Desert Sunrise
by Lynn Jones
Summary: Cadet Herald Liraz Tovinia has been exiled to Earth with no memory of her home. All she knows is that she was convicted of murdering an Autobot...and that she is innocent. Can she prove her innocence and protect her new friends from an old enemy? NightbeatxOC, some ProwlxRiella.
1. Prologue

**OK, so, I've had my fun with TF:Prime (Ratchet's Human). Now I'm going back to G1/comicverse.**

**I own only Warria Prime (not that she'll be in this story much), Liraz, Hope, Cero, and Felis Prime. Unfortunately, I own no canon characters. Riella (who will show up soon) belongs to T'Reilani.**

Prologue: Court Date

The room was enormous. It had to be, to accommodate the crowd of Cybertronian Colonials and Heer-oldec Heralds that had gathered. The sweeping walls and high ceiling tapered toward the front of the room, drawing attention to the judge who stood before them, her silver-blue armor shining, and to the defendant who stood before her, battle suit restricted to the role of simple armor.

The defendant, orange skin glowing and _brant_ swords conspicuously absent from their sheathes on her back, stood tall and proud. She knew what had to be done. She knew what was right, what was just. And she knew that what had to be done was not right or just. But it was necessary. And necessary was the code all Tovinias lived by.

The judge, Warria Prime, Governess of the Cybertronian Colony on Heer-olde, looked down on the small Herald with sorrow. She also knew what the correct ruling would be, just like she knew the ruling she would make. And she knew they were not the same ruling.

_Forgive me, Herald, for I do you wrong for the sake of the home we both love,_ Warria thought sadly, reaching for the Herald's spirit. She lifted one hand for silence, and what little talk there had been in the court room ceased.

"I, Warria Prime, Governess of this Colony and leader of the Heraldic Council, will now judge this Herald," she announced. She stared down once more, her blazing green optics meeting the Herald's equally green eyes evenly, sorrowfully. "Liraz Tovinia, Cadet Herald, apprentice to Master Herald Cero Lotiv, I find you guilty of all you have been accused of. For the crime of Factionist murder and spark-draining, I sentence you to a partial memory wipe and lifelong exile from Heer-olde." This got some murmurs in the crowd, mostly from the people who didn't know the Herald on trial, and the conservatives who did know her and didn't like her much. They would be complaining about her ruling. Traditional punishment for the crimes Liraz had just been officially convicted of was a full memory wipe and exile to the most barren region on the planet, the Sands of the Sun.

The Herald's eyes flashed, but she contained her reaction and disguised her momentary lapse in control with a deep bow, accepting her fate. As she rose, she met Warria's electric-flame-green gaze for a long moment. Then she nodded. She knew what she had to do.

"Your vessel awaits you," Warria announced. Liraz remained where she was as one Herald and one Colonial Guard moved to flank her.

_You do only what must be done, and I agreed to this. I still agree to this. It is my turn to do what must be done,_ Liraz thought, touching Warria's spark with her spirit. She kept her head high as her guards led her away, toward the ship that would wipe her most of memory before dumping her on a world far from her home.

"Amazing," people in the crowd whispered. "She stays in control of herself even when walking to her doom." Others muttered, "How can she stand what she's done?" They all believed her guilty. The one Herald who had fought to protect the Cadet Herald had not come. She, too, had known the verdict, if not the reasoning behind it.

So out of hundreds of Cybertronians and Heralds in the court room, only Liraz Tovinia and Warria Prime knew the truth.

Liraz was innocent. Her court date had been set to condemn her ever since she and Warria had decided on their current course. Liraz was to be exiled, disgraced, her name erased from her family's records, in hopes of drawing out the true criminal.

And if it cost her home, her life, her honor, then so be it.

Any Herald would do that and more for their home.

Well, almost any Herald. There was a criminal out there somewhere, who had just gotten off because Liraz hadn't. But Liraz would deal with him later. After her exile had begun.

**Well, I hate to be vague in my descriptions of characters. Anyone wondering about Warria Prime and the Colony should read If Only My Future Didn't Look So Bleak. Please let me know what you think!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Welcome to the beginning of a new story! I posted the prologue as chapter 1, but this is chapter 1. **

**Disclaimer: I own the Heralds and Colonials, but no canon characters. Riella belongs to T'Reilani.**

Chapter 1

(Liraz's POV)

I opened my eyes on an alien world. I shivered; this place was much colder than my home. My home was…I reached for the memory and found only a void. _Why can't I remember anything?_ That memory came willingly enough.

I had been convicted of murdering a Factionist – an Autobot, to be specific. For that, and half a dozen other minor crimes involving Factionists, I had been sentenced to a partial memory wipe and lifetime exile from my home.

_Partial memory wipe, Primus' oversized skidplate!_ I growled. _That's all I can remember! That I can't remember anything!_ That wasn't true, not really, but almost. I knew who I was and what I had done – or rather, what I had been convicted of doing.

"Hey! Kid! You can't just stand there in the middle of the road!" someone shouted. I consulted my battlesuit's computer, and then looked around. Great. I was in the middle of a city, standing in the road, and fortunately there wasn't much traffic, or I would be an unattractive smudge on the pavement by that point. The man who was yelling at me…was actually in the driver's seat of a big black truck. He waved me over. I sighed and obeyed, knowing I could handle anything anyone on this planet could dish out.

"Can I help you?" I asked. The guy looked at me.

"You're not human, are you?" The question didn't come from the human guy. It didn't even come from the truck he was in, like I'd half-expected, considering the faint hum I could hear from the big black vehicle even though it was clearly turned off. Instead, it come from a woman on a motorcycle – a woman who was about as human as I was (which is to say, not at all human). Most of her was covered up by her leather jacket, long dark pants, and gloves. Maybe she was from a warm planet, too, and found this cooler world to be too cool. Her face seemed human enough, except for the eyes, which almost glowed blue-green, and eyebrows, which slanted up instead of down, like a human's would. But that alone probably wouldn't have tipped me off. No, the faint hum coming from her and the motorcycle beneath her told me she wasn't even organic.

"Neither are you," I replied in answer to her question. "Neither is your ride, or the black _mitilu_ with the squishy organic in him."

"If we're taking a survey, I actually am human," the guy in the truck broke in. For some reason, he kicked the interior of his vehicle.

"Stop that, Will," the truck growled.

"If I were you, organic, I wouldn't irritate the _mitilu_," I informed the human.

"You just blew our cover, and we don't even know what she is!" the human exclaimed, ignoring my advice.

"Riella's the one who announced she wasn't human!" the truck protested.

"This is definitely not my fault. You're the one who called her over here, Will," the lady on the bike – Riella, apparently – retorted.

"And as for not knowing what she is…" the truck grumbled. The passenger side door opened on its own. "Get in."

"I think your _mitilu_ friend knows what I am," I told the human as I got in. "Just for curiosity's sake, what gave me away?"

"Gee, I don't know," Riella sighed. "Maybe the orange skin and the weird metal armor?" The truck rumbled to life.

"Nope. It was the blank expression," it – he – answered. "No one but the _Heer-oldec_ go around with dumb expressions like that." Furious, I triggered my battlesuit and pressed the muzzle of my plasma rifle against the truck's dashboard. The human jerked away, and the lady on the bike started to get off and head for me. I ignored them both.

"You want to say that again, pit-spawn?" I hissed. "Factionist or no, neutral, Autobot, Decepticon, Colonial, I will shatter your hard drive and rip out your spark if you insult me." A hand no larger than my own but much stronger wrapped around my wrist where the plasma rifle formed from my battlesuit.

"Put the gun away. NOW." I stared into the glowing blue eyes of the strange, non-human woman. And a tiny worm of knowledge worked its way into my mind. I could sense not only the inaudible hum of machinery from her, but, unlike an organic and most technorganics, she didn't have a spirit that filled her whole body. She had a spark, a true spark, like the one I knew resided in the truck and in her motorcycle companion.

"You're one of them," I whispered. The human was an unhealthy pale color. "You aren't organic; you're a _mitilu_ in fake skin." She seemed a bit surprised, but those not-quite-glowing blue-green eyes – make that optics – never wavered from my eyes. "You're Cybertronian." I retracted my plasma rifle.

_Very good, Herald. We would rather not have these particular Cybertronians destroyed. Besides, they can help you in the quest you have forgotten._ It was the voice of an age past that spoke, a voice that spoke into my mind, through my spirit, a voice that had not led me astray. I didn't remember it, but I knew that voice. And I trusted it.

_All right. If you say so,_ I muttered. Then I retracted my battle suit to its non-combat form, so it covered me, but no weapons or other upgrades were visible. The woman – or should I call her a femme? – released me and went back to the motorcycle. The truck – the _mitilu,_ or Metal One – pulled out. The motorcycle followed.

"Where are we taking her?" the human asked.

"To the base, of course," the _mitilu_ rumbled.

"What? 'Hide, I don't think that's a good idea. She was going to shoot you, remember?" the human protested.

"If this particular Herald wishes to shoot me, I don't believe I will object," the _mitilu_ – _Ironhide,_ the ancient voice told me – answered.

"Do I know you, _mitilu_?" I inquired cautiously. I glanced back nervously and saw the motorcycle and rider were still following us.

"Maybe not, Herald, but I know you." He refused to say anything else after that. I sighed and did a systems check while he drove.

Armor: check. Plasma rifle: check. Laser scalpel: check. Subspace pocket: check. Various patches: check. _Brant_ short swords: check. _Brant_ dagger: check. Anti-grav boosters: check. Shield: check. Memory: no check. Slag.

"My name is Will Lennox," the human said after a while.

"Good for you," I muttered. I almost informed him that introducing himself to a Cadet Herald without invitation was rude unless he outranked said Cadet Herald, but I held back, somehow knowing that conversation etiquette on this world was entirely different from what I knew.

"You know, normally, when someone introduces himself, the other person introduces herself," Lennox commented. I sighed.  
>"Only in your world, human," I muttered. Then I twisted in my seat to look him in the face. "You want to know who I am? I am Cadet Herald Liraz Tovinia, of…" I trailed off. Of…of…what was it? What was the name of my home? I shook my head, trying to clear it, trying to remember. But there was nothing.<p>

_They didn't just take my memory,_ I thought desperately. _They took my home!_ My eyes burned. I turned away from the human and leaned my head against the window, wishing I'd graduated to Master so I could have had my tear ducts removed. Crying wasted energon, energy, and time.

"Are you all right?" Ironhide asked. I trailed my fingers over the dashboard absently, automatically trying to calm the worry I could sense in him.

"I'm as all right as can be expected, _mitilu_," I said. His concern puzzled me, but my lifelong training as a field Herald made me instinctively need to reassure him. I couldn't remember that training, of course, but I knew I'd had that training, and I knew the behaviors of a field Herald were so deeply engrained in me that they would never be wiped from my mind. I knew that was the reason I needed to reassure him.

"Whoa. We go from she's about to shoot you to you asking if she's all right?" Lennox demanded incredulously. I shrugged.

"He's an Autobot," I answered. "They're all insane."

"And what do you – a Herald or whatever – know about Autobots?" the human wanted to know.

"I can't remember," I told him honestly.

"What do you mean, you can't remember?" he demanded. I frowned, and my hand on the dashboard became a fist.

"I mean, I can't remember. Ever heard of a memory wipe?" I snapped. The truck stopped. For a moment, I thought it was in response to what I'd said. Then I looked up. We were surrounded. And their signatures on my hasty scan didn't come up Autobot.

"Decepticons," Lennox whispered. I opened my door and stepped out. "Hey! Herald! Get back in here!" I closed the door.

"Little girl, you may have a gun, but there's no way you'll survive against these guys," she woman/femme on the motorcycle snapped. "Get back inside Ironhide."

"Liraz! Get back inside!" Ironhide ordered. I ignored them all. The femme stalked over to me, leaving her bike rumbling angrily. I focused on the surrounding robots.

"What do you want?" I called up.

"Run and hide, human," hissed one of them. "We want the Autobots." He leaned down, trying to intimidate me. Unluckily for him, I'd faced down mechs twice as tough as this guy. I shook my head in mock dismay.

"First of all, slag heap, I'm not human. Second of all, I don't do 'run and hide'. And third of all…" I activated my battlesuit and brought it up to full, drawing my twin _brant_ short swords out of their subspace sheathes as I did so. "Slag off!" I finished.

"Look! This human has a shell!" one of the Decepticons shouted.

"Step on it!" another one urged. I triggered my anti-grav boosters and back flipped to stand on the top of Ironhide's cab.

"I'M NOT A HUMAN!" I shouted at them. "Stay in alt mode, _mitilu_," I added under my breath. Then I activated my shield. It's more of a force-field, but much stronger than any other projection of its type. Only _brant_ swords could pierce a Herald's shield. This I knew, and this I counted on as I extended the nearly invisible pearly shimmer to cover Ironhide, the femme, and the motorcycle as well as me. "Do you trust me?"

"Nope!" came the femme's answer.

"Not really!" the human added.

"What do you have in mind?" Ironhide asked.

"Stay close together," I warned. "Drive. My shield will keep them away." The black truck began to edge forward. The femme got back on her motorcycle – briefly, I wondered who her companion was – and they followed close behind Ironhide. The iridescent glow of the shield reached the foot of the Decepticon in front of us. And pushed him back. He stumbled out of the way, and Ironhide accelerated, the motorcycle on his tail. Grateful for one of many battlesuit upgrades, I activated a pair of magnetic clamps on my feet to help me keep my balance and stay on Ironhide's cab.

The Decepticons were too shocked to follow.

**Okay, that's chapter one! Special thanks to T'Reilani for allowing me to use Riella!**

**Please review! Flames will be used to light campfires and make s'mores! **


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two! I'll be introducing a new character here, and a new talent of the Heralds. Also, more of T'Reilani's Riella! (which I don't own) I also (unfortunately) don't own any canon TFs characters. Phooey. **

Chapter Two

(Liraz's POV)

I kept my shield up long after the Decepticons had dropped out of my scanner range. I didn't like surprises. At all. Especially the deadly kind.

"I think we lost them," Lennox sighed after a while.

"Probably," I agreed.

"I'm not picking up anything on my scanners," Ironhide put in. I ran one last scan of our surrounding – empty of mechanical life – and decided I could let my shield dissipate.

"Open up, _mitilu,_" I ordered. Ironhide slowed to a stop and opened his passenger door. I climbed in and released my shield. The barely-visible shimmer faded. I leaned back in my seat and took a deep breath. Maintaining my shield for so long took more energy than I liked with no apparent source of energy nearby.

"Why do you keep calling me that?" the black Autobot asked. I hesitated, trying to decide what all to tell them. Factionists shouldn't know my language. Even if I couldn't remember the name of said language. Then I shrugged. I was already condemned for the most heinous crime a Herald could commit. Who cared if I shared a little language lesson with some Factionists?

"It means 'metal one' in my native language," I answered. A wave of longing for my nameless, featureless, forcibly forgotten homeworld washed over me. There was silence for a long moment.

"We're almost to the base," Lennox observed, changing the subject.

_::Riella to Ironhide. Are you _sure_ this is a good idea?::_ I blinked. Where had that come from? It was like the woman/femme was talking to Ironhide…but not out loud. What was going on? I didn't sense any spark-bonds, but then again I couldn't sense any sparks at the moment either, not enough to make contact. I could tell the femme – Riella, I had to remember that. Her name was Riella – was one of them, and the motorcycle, and _mitilu_, but that was slagging IT.

_::Ironhide to Riella. No. I'm not. But she saved my life before, when Sentinel betrayed us. I trust her. It's the others' reactions to her that I don't trust.::_ The answer was just out of reach…wait. Sentinel? As in Sentinel, Warria's Counterpart, who had betrayed the Colony? Was that why…why…slag. I'd almost realized something, and now all I had was the lingering sensation that those particular thoughts had been specifically blocked because they were part of my people's history.

_::Riella to Ironhide. This is a bad idea. You may trust her, but I certainly don't.::_

_::Prowl to Ironhide. I'm with Riella on this. Things are bad enough with the humans as it is, what with their planet being attacked by Decpticons and all. They already kicked us out once. I don't want to provoke them into doing it again.::_ I blinked. Prowl? Hmmm…I glanced behind Ironhide and looked at the motorcycle Riella was riding.

_I'd bet my battlesuit that's Prowl,_ I thought. Then I realized what I was hearing. Communications channels. The Factionists were comming each other. I vaguely remembered something about Heralds' battlesuits being able to eavesdrop on comm channels used by the Factions.

_::Red Alert to Ironhide.::_ I couldn't hold back a small smile. They were using a standard factionist comm frequency, with encryption about two-thirds as complex as encryption on…on…whatever planet I came from. The satisfaction of having figured out what was going on faded as I realized I still had less than no memory of my home.

_::Ironhide to Red Alert. What do you want?::_

_::Red Alert to Ironhide. You have a non-human organic in your alt mode. Why?::_ I concentrated for a moment, then managed to set my battlesuit's microscopic comm array so it wouldn't read the sender-receiver heading at the beginning of each message.

_::He insists she saved his life, and we should trust her, and lots of slag like that,::_ Riella snapped.

_::Can the thing hypnotize Cybertronians? Is that why he claims to trust it?::_ This Red Alert guy was seriously paranoid. And ridiculous. I decided to step in.

_::No, it can't hypnotize bots, or Prowl and I would've been caught, too. But I don't know what all it can do.::_

_::Well, for one thing, it can hear you,::_ I said in a stage-whisper over their comm channel. _::Is this really the frequency and encryption you guys use?::_

_::Not anymore. We're going to have to change it now,::_ Riella grumbled. Ironhide slammed on his brakes. Lennox hit the steering wheel. I slapped the dashboard. Riella and Prowl almost hit his bumper.

"What was that for?" I demanded out loud.

"You can use our comm channels?" Ironhide snapped.

"Yes. And I'm not organic. I'm technorganic; a…a Herald." I winced; I couldn't remember the name of my own species! Slag it all to the Pit! Slowly, Ironhide began driving again.

_::Was that…::_ Red Alert sounded even more paranoid now. Oops.

_::Yes. Yes, it was.::_ There was no more comm traffic the rest of the ride.

(Normal POV)

"Prime?" Optimus turned. Riella was standing in the doorway with her sparkmate, Prowl.

"Riella. Prowl. I would like to know what your impressions of the new technorganic are," the huge red and blue mech said.

"She's crazy. In more ways than one," the femme said flatly. "She claims she's lost her memory, and she nearly shot Ironhide for saying she had a blank, dumb look on her face."

"Her expression was not one I've ever seen on an organic before," Prowl put in. "She looked lost and hopeless, but no scared." Prime looked at his tactician.

"Many humans have expressed those emotions, Prowl," he reminded him.

"Yes, but there was a kind of _knowing_ to it, too. Like she'd known something was going to happen to her – and for a reason. Prime, she's guilty of something, I'd bet my spark on it."

"What makes you say that?" Prime asked.

"I'm not sure. Something in her expression, I suppose." Prowl tried very hard not to really think about it. _Does not compute. Does not compute._ Quickly, he shut down that line of thinking. He didn't want to glitch.

"Have you talked to Ironhide?" Riella asked. Prime shook his head.

"No. I wanted to speak with the technorganic first," he admitted. Riella frowned. "Thank you, both of you. Dismissed." The two exited Prime's office without another word.

_::Bring her in, Red Alert.::_

(Liraz's POV)

I stared at the red and white mech who was apparently assigned to watch me.

"I don't need a babysitter, you know," I told him. "I'm a Cadet, for Primus's sake!" He glanced at me, then went back to studying the wall of the corridor where we were waiting for the summons of the Faction's leader. Briefly, I wondered how many of _those_ they'd gone through in the time since Heralds had last had contact with the Factions. Then I wondered when the last time was the Heralds _had_ had contact with the Factions. And I couldn't remember. Slag.

"You are a security risk. You must be monitored at all times," he answered. I frowned.

"Even if I have to go to the bathroom?" I asked. I'd meant it as a joke, but the mech's cooling fans kicked in.

"Optimus will see you now," he growled, pointing to a door nearby. I hurried over. The door slid open without my touching it. _Just like the old Colonial base…_ I thought in wonder. Then I blinked. What old Colonial base? Frag.

A big blue and red mech was waiting for me. I stared up at him. He as HUGE, taller than the Colonials back on…on…I gave up trying to remember the rest of that thought and decided to run a scan. He had the usual Factionist ability to transform his arms into weapons. Unusually, in addition to the cannon form his arms could take, he could transform them into swords, too. Interesting.

"Cadet Herald Liraz Tovinia." The big mech finally spoke. I recognized his voice, his armor…I knew who he was.

"Autobot Supreme Commander Optimus Prime," I replied easily. His glowing blue optics shuttered for a moment. _Thank you, Skikous!_ I cheered inwardly. Slag. Who was Skikous? And why did I get the feeling that she was the one responsible for my limited knowledge of certain prominent Factionists?

"Herald, why are you on Earth?" he asked. I searched my memory for an answer. I found one in what I remembered of my own identity, but it was not a literal answer, so I could ignore it for a bit.

"I…I don't remember," I told him, closing my eyes. A tiny detail – one that wouldn't get me blasted back to my forgotten homeworld – rose to the surface of my mind. "I need to prove something."

"Prove what?"

"I can't remember!" I burst out. "My memory's gone, all right? Gone! Wiped! Poof! Nothing there!" I felt the stinging sensation in my eyes again and pulled my battlesuit up fully, activating the flexible metal hood and veil-like face cover. It hid my face in shadows, hid the shameful, wasteful tears I couldn't hold back. The soft hiss of the door opening reached my ears.

"Optimus?" It was Ironhide. Optimus cycled his vents tiredly.

"What is it, old friend?" the Autobot leader asked.

"Have you decided if she can stay or not?"

"No. You have something to say on her behalf?" Prime guessed. Ironhide nodded.

"She saved my life. And she defended us against the Decepticons that showed up. We could have taken them down, but Optimus, there were a lot of them. I don't think we all would have made it back here in one piece if we'd had to fight them," the black mech confessed.

"Saved your life, _mitilu_?" I echoed, surprised. I'd never seen Factionists in person before the human called me over this morning…had I?

"Yes. But you won't remember it, not if you've truly lost your memory," he told me. I nodded slowly.

"Liraz, you do know why you lost your memory?" Prime asked. I took a deep breath. Lying now could cost me what little I had left. Telling the truth could get me killed faster than I could put my shield up. Slag.

_A Herald who lies heralds only destruction,_ I thought, without knowing who or what I was quoting. _But a Herald who tells every secret tells everyone she is untrustworthy. The hard part if finding a balance between truth and fiction._

"I didn't lose my memory," I said quietly. "It was taken from me by my people's court. I was blamed for some terrible things, and my people condemned me to _this_" I gestured to myself, to my surroundings, to the too-cold planet I was on "because of it. This is my punishment." Prime and Ironhide shared concerned glances.

"Ironhide? Do you still trust her?" Prime asked. The black mech didn't hesitate.

"With my life," he answered. Prime nodded to himself.

"Yes, she has proven trustworthy with that before, hasn't she?" he murmured. "Very well, Cadet Herald Liraz Tovinia. You may remain here." He looked at Ironhide again. "Nightbeat is landing in a megacycle or so."

"Right. You want me to bring the Herald?" Ironhide asked. Prime nodded. "All right. Come on, Liraz. Let's go meet the soon-to-be-resident detective." I bowed to Optimus, the way I half-remembered was proper for a Herald to a Factionist leader. Then I followed Ironhide out of Optimus's office.

**Well, there's chapter two! Thank you to T'Reilani for not only letting me use Riella, but for reviewing! Everyone else, PLEEEEEEEEEEEASE review!**

**Flames shall be utilized to forge sophisticated phrases for my author's notes!**


	4. Chapter 3

Liraz: Hey! Heeeeeeeey!

Me: What?

Liraz: It's time for the next chapter already!

Me: You realize I have a life besides writing your story, right? And you're just a figment of my imagination, in a world from someone else's imagination, right?

Liraz: Your point is…?

Me: Never mind. Anything to get you to leave me alone.

Liraz: Sadly, I am the only thing in this story so far that Lynn Johnson owns, including Riella, who belongs to T'Reilani.

Chapter 3

(Liraz's POV)

Earth may have been colder than the vague impressions of heat that were all I had left of my home, but one thing it did right was sunsets. This particular sunset painted the sky orange, red, pink, and gold, like someone had taken the blue Earth sky and sprayed fire across it. I, of course, was not outside in the cold-and-getting-colder evening for the sunset. I wasn't even outside in said evening for the stellar company. Every Autobot on base (more than I would have expected, honestly, considering how small roughly half the base was compared to the bots in it) was assembled at the landing point where the new mech was supposed to land. I had refused to perch on the shoulder of the huge black mech that was Ironhide, instead preferring to stand on my own two feet on the ground. Most of the Cybertronians gave me a wide berth, but Ironhide stayed relatively close, and so did the blue femme that was Riella's true form.

"Why aren't you over there with your pal the motorcycle?" I asked irritably, jerking my head to indicate the black and gold mech who was Prowl, the motorcycle Riella's organic form had ridden on the way to the base. Riella looked down at me with narrowed optics for a long moment.

"First of all, my pal the motorcycle has a name – Prowl. Second of all, you may have convinced Ironhide and Prime that you're not a threat, but I still don't trust you," she told him finally. I tilted my head and considered her.

"How can you transform into an organic form?" I asked suddenly – and unexpectedly, if her expression was anything to go by.

"I used to be organic," she answered automatically.

"So you're technorganic, like a Herald, but you have a true spark," I mused. "I didn't know that was possible." Riella frowned.

"If it hurts your tiny little orange head to think about it, pretend it isn't possible," she snapped. I laughed. A _mitilu _with humor. At least she was smart enough to not trust me. No Factionist should trust me, especially considering what I had been convicted of.

"Autobot energy signature incoming," called a greenish mech who stood next to Optimus. I focused on the sky again. An oblong fireball was streaking through the sky toward us, mush too small to be a full spaceship. I watched it curiously. Factionists traveled without starships? That would be an interesting fact to add to Skikous's files on the Factions. I blinked. Skikous again. But just a name, and now apparently she…frag. I couldn't remember what I'd just thought. Something about…about…frag it all. _Frag it all to the Pit,_ I thought fiercely.

The evening dimness suddenly brightened as the fireball drew closer. Beneath the coating of flames, I could see a strange metal object with Cybertronian runes inscribed on it. I waited, watching it calmly. The Autobots started to back away, giving the mech (if that's what it was) room to land. I didn't move. Riella back away from me swiftly, leaving me alone in the face of that huge, fire-wrapped object. I did what any self-respecting Herald would do.

I stayed where I was, and activated my shield.

And, all in all, what happened next was disappointingly anticlimactic. The huge, fire-wrapped object streaked closer, filling the sky, filling everything…and bounced off the front of my shield, to land behind me in the field.

Of course, I'm sure it seemed much more dramatic to the watching Cybertronians: huge, fiery entry pod or whatever drops out of the sky, right at the seemingly tiny and defenseless Herald, who doesn't even twitch. Is she paralyzed by fright? Is she stupid? And then she shield shows up, but that doesn't mean anything, the pod must be about to smash her into an unattractive orange smear on the ground…and then, miraculously, it doesn't.

_You don't give them enough credit,_ the ancient voice whispers. I grimace and ignore it for once. Sometimes, advice is necessary, even welcome. But an ancient voice telling me how I underestimate the stupid Factionists? No, thank you.

And then I realize that I can hear roaring.

_Hm. That sounds like _mitilu, I thought absently. Then I groaned.

"LIRAZ!" Ironhide was bellowing. "Are you all right?" I sighed and deactivated my shield as the ginormous black mech pounded up to me.

"I'm fine! I had my shield up! It's not like that pod or whatever was going to bust through it," I snapped.

"You could have been killed!" Ironhide was shouting. I scowled.

"No, I couldn't have. My ancestor's shield held off a whole fragging ship full of you giant metal idiots, and they've only gotten better since then. You think my shield can't handle a little space debris? I'm insulted," I replied.

"Who are you calling space debris, human?" I looked up. Oh, boy. Prowl and Riella were approaching. Just what I needed.

"That rust-headed moron who just bounced off my shield," I answered. "Did you think I was talking to you?" Riella was scowling – which, I have to admit, was slightly more intimidating than when the mechs scowled at me. Something tickled the back of my mind.

_Femmes are always the ones to look out for. A mech will step on you. A femme will make you wish the mech had stepped on you before you got your battlesuit._ And where that lovely piece of advice came from, I had no idea.

"Not only are you from some unknown planet, you're reckless and stupid as well," Riella snapped. I forced a grin.

"Aw, Riella, I didn't know you cared," I positively cooed. She snorted.

"You think you're funny, but you're not," she informed me. Then she and Prowl walked away, leaving me with a still-steaming Ironhide.

"Why didn't you get out of the way like everyone else?" the big Autobot demanded. I shrugged.

"Maybe because I'm not as helpless as everyone else seems to think I am. I held of a crowd of Decepticons with my shield, remember? I know my limits, and space debris etched in ancient Cybertronian glyphs is well within my limits," I told him tartly.

"And how do you know what ancient Cybertronian glyphs look like, human?" inquired a crisp, businesslike voice I'd never heard before.

"I'm not human," I practically shouted as I whirled around…and found myself face to foot with the new mech. I looked up and found that the new mech didn't have an alt mode yet. His gray-black protoform wiring was all that concealed his inner circuitry…and his spark.

Speaking of which…I could almost hear, almost feel the pulsing warmpth. I missed the heat of my home, the only thing I could remember of it, and suddenly I could feel…not the scorching heat of the desert, but the soft, comforting warmth of a friendly spark. I started to reach out and make contact, but then the mech spoke.

"If you're not human, then what are you?" he asked. Then he held up a hand. "Hang on. Let me guess. Not a Nebulon; wrong skin color. Not a Vulcan; wrong facial features. Let me think…" I started to frown, then looked up and saw his blue optics shining. His spark pulsed happily. I mock scowled.

"You know very well what I am, you rust-brained scrapheap," I said cheerfully. He grinned, and his spark flared.

"Why yes, as a matter of fact, I do, my dear Herald. Would you be a Master or a Cadet?" he asked.

"Cadet," I answered. He nodded wisely.

"The Heer-oldec are an unusual people. And Heer-olde is an unusual planet. I know something of your traditions – enough to know that where there is a Cadet, there should be a Master, a _hata_," he told me. I nodded automatically. _Hata_. Teacher. Master. Mentor. Responsible for a Cadet's training. Then I felt my expression start to fall, and I forced it back to cool regard. But this new mech was good. He saw it. "No Master? Then either he died, or…"

"I wish," I muttered, without quite knowing why. The mech crouched down.

"Then you're…" he trailed off.

"A _sancalu_," I whispered. "A Forgotten One." I blinked, my eyes burning with tears. I forced them away. "But I didn't do it," I hissed. "I didn't do it, I swear by the Forges! I just need to prove it!" I blinked. Prove it. This was what I needed to prove: my innocence. His spark pulsed warmly.

"Then I'm your bot. I'm a detective. My name is Nightbeat."

**That's this week's chapter! I'm trying to upload every weekend, but I still need reviews! **


	5. Chapter 4

**Hey, everyone! Sorry I didn't upload over the weekend, but I had no free time AT ALL. It sucked. Anyway, I'm back on track now. Hopefully.**

Liraz: It's about slagging time! I've been trapped between chapters for FOREVER!

Me: Shut up.

Liraz: Not on your pitiful human life.

Me: My pitiful human self came up with you, remember?

Liraz: Lynn Jones owns no Transformers! Unfortunately, she does own Heer-olde and the characters from there! But T'Reilani is the one who owns Riella!

Chapter 4:

Nightbeat was as good as his word. As soon as he had reported to Optimus Prime, he had set about trying to help me. As a detective, he loved a good mystery. And my lack of memory was just one more turn in this latest mystery for him.

Like any good detective, Nightbeat interviewed his witness (me) extensively. And he drove me crazy while doing it, with his spark pulsing faster every time I mentioned something new, and then slowing or hesitating when I had nothing more. First he wanted every memory I had from before I'd been picked up by Ironhide, Lennox, Riella, and Prowl (of which there weren't many; just heat, and sand, my language, who I was and what I was supposed to have done). Then he wanted a moment-by-moment account of everything up until he landed. By the Pit, if I could have given him a full account of every thought I'd had since I opened my eyes in the middle of that street on this Primus-forsaken, irritatingly cold world, his fragging spark might have extinguished itself with glee.

And then, once I'd told him everything, he kept asking the same questions again and again.

Like I said, he drove me crazy.

"I don't remember anything else, you fragging scrapheap!" I finally shouted. I activated my plasma rifle and blasted the far wall of the room Nightbeat had been questioning me in. "I'm the client here, not a witness to the crime! Not a suspect!" Then I activated my anti-grav boosters and soared out through the gaping hole that now graced the far wall of abovementioned room.

"Liraz! Wait!" Nightbeat called. I ignored him and kept going, working my way back into the base in another wing and eventually finding myself in what appeared to be a Cybertronian-scale firing range.

_Perfect_, I thought. I pulled my _brant_ swords out of the subspace pockets they inhabited when I didn't have my battlesuit out to full and began working through every single pass, strike, counter, block, and feint I knew. Twice. And I knew a lot of them. Apparently, muscle memory hadn't been included in my memory wipe. Once I was out of sword moves and was sweating energon drops from my battlesuit and blood from my organic skin, I put my blades away, activated my plasma rifle, and took a firing stance. I fired three shots, and three targets exploded, all in the space of about half a second.

"Hey, those were mine,: Ironhide protested gruffly. I whirled around, surprised. I hadn't heard him come in. The huge mech leaned against the wall, arms crossed. I sighed and retracted my rifle.

"Sorry, _mitilu,_" I muttered. He shrugged.

"That's what this place is for – blowing something up so you don't blow some_one_ up," he replied. "What's wrong?" I shook my head. Ironhide wasn't my counselor, or my confident, or even my friend. I couldn't afford for him to be. And he couldn't afford to be close to me, either. Nonetheless, I shrugged and answered.

"It's just…Nightbeat. I don't have answers to his questions. If I did, I wouldn't need him to help me; I'd be able to prove my innocence myself. I don't remember all the details he needs. I don't know anything. I don't _remember. _ And then…" I trailed off, not knowing how to say it, or even if I should say it: that I could sense every pulse of the Autobot's spark when I was in the same room as him, when I could feel nothing more than the faintest heat from everyone else.

"Did you know there was a time when Nightbeat couldn't remember where he'd been for decacycles? He found mission logs detailing trips he didn't remember to places he'd never heard of," Ironhide told me. I stared up at him, stunned.

"Really? Did he ever figure out what happened?" I asked. Ironhide nodded grimly.

"And it was almost the end of us all," he sighed. "He called up one of his friends, Hardhead, to help him investigate, and…" I listened intently as Ironhide told the story – of Guardians and crystals and the disappearance of an entire planet's worth of Transformers, and a place called the Dead Universe, and a mech named Galvatron leading dead Decepticons – and eventually, I was so caught up in the story and the events from before my own memory issues that my frustration with Nightbeat faded.

"Storytelling, are we?" I looked up. Nightbeat was standing in the door, a slightly sheepish expression on his faceplates/

"Oh, yes, I was just telling Liraz about your own memory issues," Ironhide answered cheerfully. The blue and gold mech nodded ruefully.

"I guess I've earned having my own past brought up," he muttered. "If only Liraz's mystery was as easy to solve as the mystery of Gorlam Prime." I looked away, unable to look at him while I could feel the regret that pulsed in his spark. A large and surprisingly gentle hand picked me up. Nightbeat. "I am very sorry, Liraz. I did not consider how my pressure would make you feel." I stared up into the detective's glowing blue optics.

"I wish I had the answers," I whispered.

"Me, too. But then, if you did, you wouldn't need me, would you?" he pointed out, unknowingly echoing what I'd said earlier. "Shall we try this again, Herald?" he asked softly. I took a deep breath and nodded. I saw Ironhide smile out of the corner of my eye. I turned my head and looked right at him.

"Thank you, _mitilu,_" I said seriously.

"Don't mention it Herald," he replied. "I have a nasty, insensitive, trigger-happy reputation to maintain." Nightbeat gently lifted me to perch on his shoulder as he turned and left the firing range.

"Liraz," he began as he walked. I put a hand on the side of his neck to steady myself.

"Yes?"

"By any chance, in your knowledge of your people's customs, do you know how they erase memories?" he asked. "If we knew that, Ratchet or Wheeljack might be able to reverse it. Then we'd have more facts to work with." I was shaking my head before he finished talking. Not that he could see that, seeing as how I was on his shoulder and he was watching where he was placing his feet, in case a stray human strolled across the hallway and underneath said feet.

"If I knew before, I don't know now," I told him regretfully. He almost shrugged, but thought better of it at the last moment.

"Ratchet may be able to tell anyway," he suggested.

"Then let's go see Ratchet," I decided. Nightbeat turned toward the med bay.

_The medic will not be able to help you,_ the ancient voice whispered in my mind.

_We'll see about that. Didn't you warn me yesterday not to underestimate the Autobots?_

**And that's chapter four! Whew! How's everyone liking Nightbeat? Please review!**

**Oh, and bonus points to anyone who can correctly identify the comic(s) the whole thing with the Benzuli Expanse is from!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Wheeeeeeeeee! Such warm, fuzzy reviews! I've had so many plot bunnies I haven't had time to upload! (Shame on me)**

**Anywho, I own only Lexi and Heer-Olde. Yes, I own an entire planet! Mua-ha-ha-ha-ha! But Riella belongs to T'Reilani.**

Chapter 5:

(Liraz's POV)

"Well, as far as I can tell, there's nothing wrong with her," Ratchet sighed at last. I shrugged, trying not to show my disappointment. "There's no sign of tampering in her brain," the medic told Nightbeat. I scowled up at him, but didn't have the energy to tell him it was really rude of him to keep literally talking over my head. Besides, he was scowling at his instruments like he blamed them for their failure to identify what had made me become all memory-less.

_We told you so,_ the ancient voice whispered in my mind.

_Shut up,_ I growled back. _It's unseemly to gloat, and unless you have a real solution, just shut up._

_You want a real solution, Herald? Have you considered talking to those who might remember what you cannot?_ The ancient voice suggested. One of these days I was really going to have to figure out who/what the ancient voice was, and why it kept giving me cryptic, unhelpful, or completely senseless advice. I contemplated it's words for a moment.

"Ratchet," I began, speaking slowly, because I was saying my thoughts out loud without completely thinking them through first. "Have there been any other times recently – say, the last meta-cycle or so – when you weren't able to explain what happened to someone?" An expression that might have been surprise flitted across the Autobot's grim faceplates.

"Actually, yes. Ironhide's recovery. He was – I thought – blasted into dust by…by one of our enemies – but his body regenerated out of nothing, and his spark reignited. But…"

"Liraz, did you know anything about that?" Nightbeat interrupted. I shook my head slowly, my mind racing faster than I had thought was possible.

"All I know for sure is that if you can't explain something, it's probably connected to whatever else you can't explain," I said softly. Nightbeat turned to Ratchet.

"Have you asked Ironhide what happened? He might remember something," Nightbeat speculated.

"Are you insane? Of course he wouldn't remember! He was _offline_ for spark's sake!" the medic nearly shouted.

"Have you asked him?" the detective demanded.

"No," Ratchet snapped with a sullen glare.

"Then we're headed back to the firing range," Nightbeat announced. He held out a hand to me, and I stepped onto it. The blue and gold mech lifted me to his shoulder, and I put a hand on his neck to steady myself. He strode quickly out of the repair bay, leaving Ratchet to fume.

"Do you really think Ironhide will have an answer?" I asked curiously.

"I have no idea. It's a lead, at least," he sighed. Suddenly, I remembered what the big black mech had told Optimus: "She saved my life. And she defended us against the Decepticons that showed up." Not "She saved life _when_ she defended us" but "She saved my life _and_ defended us". And then…

"He said I wouldn't remember if I really had lost my memory," I whispered, shocked.

"What?" Nightbeat craned his neck to look at me.

"Ironhide told Optimus that I had saved his life, but that I wouldn't remember it if I'd lost my memory," I clarified. I could almost hear the hum of the detective's CPU as I cranked into overdrive. I could _definitely_ sense how his spark pulse picked up.

"interesting" was all he said out loud, though.

When we reached the firing range, Ironhide was gone, but a few bots I hadn't met before were there. One, with bright yellow armor and adorable little door wings was spewing explosion sound bytes when he hit a target. He turned around as we entered, and knocked me off of Nightbeat's shoulder when he tripped and fell into the blue and gold mech.

"Careful, Bee," the detective protested sharply. I yelped and tumbled towards the ground. In my shock, I didn't even think about activating my anti-grav boosters to catch myself. A mechanical hand shot out faster than I would have expected of a Cybertronian mech and snatched my pitiful falling self out of the air. Nightbeat held me up close to his faceplates ant scrutinized me as though checkingn to make sure I was all right. "Are you hurt, Liraz?" he asked. The yellow mech clicked and played a sound byte: _Ew! What is it?_ Nightbeat gently set me back on his shoulder and scowled at the obviously younger mech. I put my hand on his neck again, this time wrapping my fingers around one of the many cables, and was distantly aware of his spark pulse speeding up again.

"I am Cadet Herald Liraz Tovinia," I told the yellow mech. He clicked again. Before he could play another sound byte, Nightbeat introduced him.

"This is Bumblebee. He's one of the youngest mechs, a scout, and one of Riella's and Prowl's sparklings." I blinked. I hadn't known Riella had any sparklings. Then again, pretty much all I did know of Riella was that she had a Cybertronian spark and didn't like me all that much – and she certainly didn't trust me. _Which is good,_ I remeinded myself. _No Autobot should trust me, not until I prove to myself – and to everyone – that I did everything I could._ Where that thought came from, I wasn't even going to ask myself. I hid my confusion – and my darkening thoughts – and waved cheerfully at Bumblebee. He waved back tentatively.

"Bee, had you seen 'Hide?" Nightbeat asked, unaware of my internal goings-on. The yellow mech nodded. There was another soft click, and another sound byte played: "_meet the new boss, same as the old boss…"_ "He went to see Optimus?" Nightbeat guessed. Bee nodded. "_You're today's daily winner!_"

"What happened to your voice?" I couldn't help but ask.

_"It was big…it was ugly…it…got…Cheetor…"_ the sound byte trailed off.

"Megatron," one of the nearby mechs said. His armor was electric blue. "Megatron got him and damaged his vocal processor. Ratchet had it fixed, but it keeps glitching out. We haven't been able to figure out what the problem is. I'm Jolt, by the way, junior medic," he added, introducing himself.

"Any idea what's wrong with it?" I asked, eyeing the yellow mech speculatively.

"Nope. I told you, we had it fixed, but it keeps glitching out," he sighed. I ran a quick scan on the young bot with the small array of diagnostic tools in my bbattlesuit. Too bad they didn't work on technorganics…

"Nightbeat, would you put me on Bumblebee's shoulder?" I requested. The scout backed up, hands raised defensively as he whistled in protest. "Oh, relax, you big sparkling! I'm not going to hurt you!" Reluctanly, he stood still as Nightbeat transferred me to the yellow mech's shoulder. I could have hovered over, but that would have used up energy I wasn't certain I could spare if I wanted to do what I had in mind. What I was about to do would drain me emensely, especially considering I couldn't remember the last time I'd eaten or charged up. "Whatever you do, don't fight me," I warned.

I closed my eyes and placed both hands on Bee's neck, calling up my battlesuit to cover said hands. I practically hummed as I summoned all my energy and sent it through my battlesuit-covered palms and into the young bot's body. My consciousness followed a moment later.

I raced along the energon lines and connections, brushed the vocal processor – fully functional, so the problem wasn't there – and followed the lines connecting it to the scout's CPU. There. one of the connection prongs on one wire termination was bent.

I focused on it, bringing al my power to bear, and carefully bent the prong back into place as best I could. Ratchet could probably replace the wire termination and fix the issue more permenantly, I reflected. Mental patching only worked temporarily, unless I wanted to be unconscious for ages from a true, permenant healing. Which I didn't.

A squeal jerked me out of my trancelike state. I swayed and fell. Once again, Nightbeat snagged falling me out of midair.

"Liraz, are you all right?" he demanded. It was cold. So, so cold. Like a night…a night…Nightbeat's spark pulsed with worry. It was cold like a night on the high sands. My battlesuit snapped out to full. I fought to keep my eyes open. Nightbeat's presense, so close…comforting…it helped me keep some control. At least my shield hadn't snapped to full along with my battlesuit. Bumblebee was squealing and twitching. I managed to figure out why as Nightbeat's spark pulsed faster. The connection had been severed too quickly. My energy was still inside the scout.

"Bet that sand-brained glitch over here. He's still got my power," I mumbled.

"Bumblebee! Get over here!" Nightbeat ordered. Reluctantly the yellow mech approached. I reached out a hand, but couldn't reach him.

"I have to touch him," I muttered sleepily. Nightbeat seized the other mech's wrist and forced him to get close enough. I stretch out and brushed one of the giant metal fingers. My energy trickled back into me. I sighed in relief. I could retract my battlesuit to normal then. It wasn't much, but it was enough.

"Liraz?" The worry in Nightbeat's spark and voice made me force myself up.

"I'll be fine. I'm just drained. I need…something. Energy, U don't know if I can safely eat Earth food, though. Probably not, since I think Warria Prime wanted to get rid of me. She at least wanted the Council – and Cero – to think she wanted to get rid of me, anyway. But…energon works."

"Are you sure? Energon is deadly to humans," buzzed a completely new voice from Bumblebee's vocal processor. I yawned so hugely that my jaw popped. Energy transfers always took a lot out of me.

"I keep telling you overgrown rustbuckets…I'm not human." I leaned back and felt the warm living metal of Nightbeat's fingers against my battlesuit, which now fit my torso and legs like a second, more durable, skin. I closed my eyes and could suddenly feel the heat of Nightbeat's spark pulsing in his chest. I smiled. The sense of having a living spark so close, so familiar, so concerned because I had overreached, was almost comforting.

_I could never drain and extinguish a spark to gain power, not like Cero,_ I thought sleepily.

"Liraz?" Nightbeat sounded worried…almost panicked, actually. I really should let him know I'd be all right…I had told Warria I would be all right. I was a Tovinia, wasn't I? And everyone knows Tovinias are the toughest of the Heer-oldec, the people of Heer-olde.

I slipped into the dark embrace of sleep, safely cupped in Nightbeat's huge hand, and wondered why it was so hard to remember things like my home when I couldn't sense Nightbeat's spark.

Unconsciousness let me escape from the uncomfortable direction my thoughts were taking me.

**Okay, that's this chapter! Doesn't anyone know the summary from chapter 4? How about the sound byte Bee used this chapter: **_**it was big…it was ugly…it…got…Cheetor…**_**? Anyone who can tell me what episode(s) or comic(s) these are from gets bonus points!**

** Don't forget to review, and don't forget to vote on which OC should star in my next fanfic!**


	7. Chapter 6

**So, after a hiatus into the Prime-verse, I have returned to Movieverse and Liraz!**

**Bonus points go to:**

**T'Reilani for IDing the generation of the quote last chapter.**

**Everyone else: where is your TFs knowledge? Kidding. But please let me know if my trivia stuff is too old. I'll do more recent tidbits.**

**If you answered the trivia and weren't acknowledged, I'm sorry. Let me know and I'll add you in.**

**Disclaimer: I own Liraz, the planet she comes from, and…*furtively looks around, and sees Nightbeat glaring* oh, well, he's watching…guess I can't claim the TFs. Hasbro's got those. Oh, and T'Reilani owns Riella.**

Chapter 6

(Liraz POV)

I was floating upward, slowly surfacing…so, so slowly. I could feel the warm, welcome pulse of half-familiar sparks around me. I knew better than to reach out to touch them, though. I couldn't tell exactly who they were, but I knew better than to touch Factionist sparks.

"I think she's coming around," observed a crisp voice that was definitely familiar. _Nightbeat…_ I sighed, nearly reaching out to his spark. It felt so much warmer than the other sparks I could sense, almost like…like…hot sand.

"Of course she's coming around, glitch! It's not like I would allow her to just offline before I figure out how she did that!" snapped another voice, this one less familiar than Nightbeat's, but recognizable all the same. Ratchet.

"Did what?" I asked, eyes still closed. I finally opened them and the warm pulse of the sparks faded – I mean, the sparks themselves didn't fade, but my awareness of them did. Except for Nightbeat's; his I could still feel clearly. I sighed again, this time with regret; the feel of simply knowing all those sparks were near was so comforting…it reminded me of my early training at the Oasis, and later, my apprenticeship on the high sands back on Heer-olde…

That jolted me out of my half-awake state. I had spent my apprenticeship as a Cadet Herald on the high sands of Heer-olde. The name of my home planet was Heer-olde. And I had been born, raised, and had been trained partially in the capitol, the Oasis, in the shadows of the Forge of the Matrix. I'd had a mentor, the one who had taken me to the high sands. I could almost hear his voice, almost picture his face…almost remember his name…And my cousin had trained with me, too. Hope had been my best friend for my whole life.

"You fixed Bumblebee's vocal processor. It's been glitching in and out. It hasn't glitched since you lost consciousness. What did you do?" Ratchet demanded. The green medic pushed me back down when I tried to sit up. He used his pinkie finger. I contemplated slashing some wiring, but I remembered that Kumi – who, as an archivist turned head of security and intelligence on Heer-olde, used her hands almost as much as a medic would – hated it when her fingers got damaged, so I refrained. So that was who Kumi Prime was. An archivist who had become head of intell back home. But back to Ratchet's question.

"His vocal processor was fine. There was a bent prong near his CPU, which I bent back into shape. It would have been simple, if he hadn't pulled away _with me still working!_" I added angrily. A squeak drew my attention to the subject of conversation, who was now cowering behind Ratchet. I glared at him. He scooted farther out of sight behind the medic.

"Are you all right, Liraz?" Nightbeat stood on the other side of the oversized berth I'd apparently been placed on. I felt my glare fade as I looked up at the blue and gold mech, a grin working its way onto my face.

"Sure, 'Beat. I'm fine. I just needed some time to recharge, recover from the shock of the disconnect, that's all," I assured him.

"And some energon," Ratchet noted. I blinked and looked down. There was an energon line connected to my arm.

"Oh, yeah. Thanks. You can take that out now; I'm running on full to bursting." As the medic removed the line, I noticed that my battlesuit had formed a perfect connection port for the line while I was out. Ah, the wonders of the battlesuit. The port vanished as I watched.

"How did you do _that_?" Ratchet demanded. I glanced up at his shocked and bewildered expression and grinned.

"Battlesuit,' I said simply. When that didn't appear to enlighten them, I explained in more detail. "We Heralds aren't born technorganic, but when we're about five years old, we go to the Forge of the Matrix. Energon, Forge-fire, and a special _brant-_Cybertronian alloy are used to make an almost sentient battlesuit that bonds to the body and mind. We can upgrade – more armor, more power, even special weapons sometimes, like my plasma rifle. We can control our suits effortlessly, but if we're unconscious, the suit kind of takes over to protect us."

I looked around. The bots were all staring at me with various levels of mystification. Except for Nightbeat, who nodded slowly, optics far away.

"So Heralds themselves aren't technorganic, not naturally?" he murmured.

"No, we are. Without a battlesuit, we would die. It's not just part of who we are; it's part of what we are," I told him firmly. Anyone else who had told me I wasn't naturally technorganic would have gotten a sword stuffed somewhere he _really_ didn't want it. But it was Nightbeat, and his spark pulsed steadily as he contemplated what I had said, so I simply watched him for a moment.

"All right. If you're done confusing me and sucking up the Autobots' resources, I'd appreciate having that berth back if you don't mind," Ratchet growled. Nightbeat scooped me up and hurried out into the corridor, where Ironhide was waiting.

"Before you ask, _mitilu,_ I'm fine," I said when the big black mech opened his mouth.

"We were actually looking for you," Nightbeat told him. "To ask you about when you died." Ironhide grimaced.

"It hurt a lot. And then it didn't hurt anymore. That's all," he stated.

"Are you sure, Ironhide? You said – '

"Wait." I regarded the Autobot weapons specialist for a long moment. Nightbeat waited, silent. "_Mitilu_, is there a reason why you don't want to talk about when you died – besides the obvious?" I added. The big mech nodded shortly. "Nightbeat, would you let me talk to him alone, please?" it was phrased as a request, but it wasn't, not really. The detective was about to refuse anyway, I could feel it in the stiffening of his frame. I leaned against the side of his head. "Trust me, _bivilu_." The phrase slipped easily off my tongue, and I didn't let myself think about it. Reluctantly, Nightbeat put a hand up to my shoulder perch so I could get on. Then he passed me to Ironhide. As soon as I settled on the black mech's shoulder, he started off down the hallway. I tried to ignore the sad, strangely lonely flare in Nightbeat's spark as we left him behind.

"You told me not to tell anyone about what happened if they didn't see it themselves," Ironhide confessed once Nightbeat was out of hearing range.

"What happened?" I asked softly. I didn't want to cause him any more pain, but I had to know. He sighed heavily.

"We were betrayed. The traitor shot me point-blank. Normally, I would've pulled through; I've taken worse hits. But a little orange man in gunmetal gray armor kind of like yours landed on my chest. He was inside my head, and it felt like he was sucking all of my energy. It hurt. A lot. Then everything went black." He paused as a few humans walked past – they seemed to scurry everywhere around here – and then continued. "the next thing I remember is you telling me to lay still, not to fight. Then you were inside my head, the way he was, but pouring energy back into me, not sucking it out. That hurt a bit, too, but it felt…" he trailed off.

"Like life itself," I whispered.

"_How can you just drain their sparks, Cero?"_

"_If you would try it, aptlu, even once, you would not have to ask. Their strength isn't like ours. It's warm, but not sand and Forgefire. It's metal and starfire. It's like life itself."_

"You told me not to tell anyone what you had done, and said that if you came back with no memory to let you know. And to tell you a name: Cero." He fell silent.

I remembered thinking I could never drain sparks like Cero. And now I could remember asking…someone…how he could just drain sparks – not Colonial sparks, I suddenly knew, but Factionists. I didn't remember who Cero was, but I knew he was bad. And here he was again.

"Right, okay…any idea who Cero is?" I asked, stupidly hopeful. Nothing in my memory had been easy; why should this be?

"No, Liraz, I'm sorry, but that's all I know. I'm sorry I couldn't be more help," he added. I smiled.

"It's all right," I assured him. "And, if you want to tell someone, if you think it's important that your comrades know what happened, then it's all right to tell them now, I think." Ironhide's emmense frame shook slightly. He was holding back laughter. _Laughter,_ from a mech who'd just been talking about his own death. Cybertronians never ceased to surprise and confuse me.

"They'd probably put it down to hallucinations," he told me. "Since I was dying, after all." I grinned. And not just at his words.

Whatever else I had done, whatever I had been convicted of, whatever I had been accused of…I had saved this mech. I'd made a difference – a good difference. And maybe…just maybe…with Nightbeat's help, I could figure out why I knew who I was and what I was supposed to have done…and that I was innocent. And why I had come to Earth to prove that, and make things right.

**Okay, that's all I've got for you for this chapter! Please let me know what you think! Flames will be used to burn foods I don't like. **

**Anywho, hopefully it won't be so long before I post the next chapter. But these darn Prime-verse plot bunnies…anyway, remember to go to my profile and vote on which OC should star in my next fanfic.**

**And now! Bonus points shall be awarded to anyone who can tell me who said/wrote these quotes! And Energon goodies to anyone who can tell me what Generation or episode or comic it was! **

"**Don't worry, Sunny. Just make left turns!"**

"**I've been held at gunpoint by the best – Megatron, Starscream, Killmaster – remember Killmaster? With the wand? – and I've never known anyone who took so long to explain their grand plan."**

"**Huh. I wondered why I could taste the back of my eyes in my mouth."**

"**Ultra Magnus is an OCD control freak who uses learning to hurt people."**

"**What, this? This thing with the ceiling? This is called escaping."**


	8. Chapter 7

**Okay, chapter seven! But before we get going…**

**Note: this chapter might make more sense if you read She Saved Me. Just saying.**

**Bonus points to:**

**T'Reilani: for naming the most femmes from the She Saved Me trivia, including several I had never heard of before, and IDing the first quote from chapter six of this story.**

**KnockOut'sFanGirl221: for naming three of the five I knew of**

**Now: Disclaimer – sadly, I own only one mesely planet and its inhabitants. You'd think I'd be satisfied with that…Riella belongs to T'Reilani, and all canon characters belong to Hasbro.**

**Note: I apologize in advance for the ending. T'Reilani & fans of Riella, please don't be too mad at me!**

Chapter 7

(Liraz's POV)

Once again I was waking up slowly, drifting upward out of sleep, and noticed the presence of a strong, living heat that made me feel blissfully content. But this time there was only one spark…a familiar one…and I knew whose it was before I even thought to wonder why I could feel it so strongly.

"Liraz?" Nightbeat's voice was soft, but it woke me instantly.

"Yeah? What is it, Nightbeat?" I asked. The steady pulsing warmpth of his spark warmed my whole body. It was so cold on Earth, compared to Heer-olde. But being near Nightbeat's spark was like leaning over the Forge, watching as the Smiths worked. Soothing, warming…and achingly familiar. I opened my eyes, dismissing the memory of Smiths, blades, and the faint lingering sensation that Nightbeat's presence was even better than being home again. I could still feel that wonderfully familiar spark. It was so close I felt like I could reach out and touch it with my hand. But that meant…I sat up, looked around, and felt a blush spread over my face. I'd been sleepin curled up on Nightbeat's chestplates.

_Oh, mortification, my friend, so good to see you follow me even here,_ I thought sourly. Then I looked up a Nightbeat, smiled, and then blushed even more furiously. I swiftly activated my helmet and facemask so he wouldn't notice.

"Ironhide commed me about two breems ago, after he dropped you off here. He mentioned the name Cero, so I've been looking into it,' the Autobot detective explained.

"Um, Nightbeat?" I began, cheeks flaming. I was almost afraid my facemask would melt. And the optic ridge he raised told me he knew why I had it activated. Frag. Then understanding flooded his expression – and maybe a hint of embarrassment, too.

"Sorry. I didn't know where to put you," he told me, gently picking me up. He sat up, setting me on his shoulder as he did so.

"Um. I guess it's all right," I mumbled. I could still sense his spark, warm – even scorching, now, like the desert sun. I sighed happily, glad I could still feel it, and unthinkingly reached out mentally to brush it. His whole body jerked in surprise. Oops. I seized a ridge in his armor and barely managed to keep from tumbling off his shoulder.

"What in the name of Primus was that?" he gasped, voice hoarse and spark pulsing wildly.

"Oops," I squeaked.

"Oops? _Oops?_ That was my _spark_! Did you – " he stopped there, straining his neck to stare at me. "How did you…"

"Sorry! I wasn't thinking! I forgot that Factionists don't have sparkbonds to non-Cybertronians! I'm used to being around Colonials, even if I can't really remember anyone but my cousin, who trained with me…and I barely remember _her_, or why she's important. Great. One more mystery to add to my increasing list," I babbled. Nightbeat just stared at me. I gulped. "um, so…anyway…sorry."

"Liraz." He said my name slowly, wonderingly. The pulse of his spark was faster than normal. "You can touch my spark…with your mind?" I shook my head.

"Kind of, but it's more like…my spirit. It's complicated. I don't really understand it myself; I guess an explanation of that wasn't on the list of memories they thought I'd need as a _sancalu_." Nightbeat smiled softly.

"Well, as I was saying, I found out some stuff about Cero." This brought my attention back to our original topic.

"what have you got for me?" I asked, vaguely remembering my mentor using that phrase when Hope and I reported in.

"Apparently, Cero was wanted as a witness at your trial. Or, rather, one Cadet Herald Hope Tovinia requested that he be brought in for questioning in relation to your case. No one could find him." Nightbeat paused. "Liraz, it says here that you murdered Ironhide, and that you weren't allowed to speak in your own defense. And reports of Ironhide on Earth after you supposedly murdered him were ignored completely." I started to nod, then froze.

"You read the whole case file?" I whispered.

"Yes – and don't worry, Ironhide explained to me what really happened – which is when he mentioned Cero to me, actually," he added.

"But how did you find all this?" I demanded. "_Where_ did you find all this?" Nightbeat looked away sheepishly.

"I…had a contact who was on Heer-olde at one point. He turned out to be a traitor – to the Autobots and to the Heralds – but the codes he gave me for the database of court records still worked," he admitted. I shook my head in disbelief.

"Skikous swore up and down that all our systems were secure," I murmured.

"Skikous?" Nightbeat repeated curiously. I opened my mouth to tell him about Skikous…and found that I couldn't remember much about her. She was a femme. That was it.

"Never mind," I sighed, turning to bury my face in the wires and cords of the Autobot's neck. "I can't remember her."

"Do you want me to search the court records for her?" he offered. Tempting.

"Not unless she's connected to Cero," I answered, voice muffled by Nightbeat's neck. "We need to focus on him; he's the key to all this, I can feel it."

_No, Herald, _we_ know that he is the key, and we are allowing that knowledge to flow through to you,_ the ancient voice informed me. I started to reply, but a light touch on my mind or spirit or whatever distracted me. The presence pressing against my consciousness was one I'd never felt contact me before, but I recognized it instantly.

_Nightbeat?_ I questioned. Surprise and delight flowed over me from the achingly-familiar presence.

_Yes!_ Our mutual excitement and something else distracted us, forcing our minds apart. I grinned like a fool.

"I felt you!" I exclaimed out loud. Nightbeat smiled.

"I didn't know it would work," he admitted. "But it's like you have a spark, too. It's different from a Cybertronian spark, but it's easier to find, easier to touch without forming a permanent bond." I nodded.

"Permanent bonds can be formed, though," I warned. "It's just that my spirit is more mobile than your spark." He tilted his head thoughtfully, then opened him mouth to say something.

_::Ratchet to Nightbeat.::_ the detective tensed.

_::Nightbeat here,::_ he responded.

_::I need you in the medbay _now_. Bring the herald; I know she can hear us. Ratchet out.::_ Nightbeat stood.

"Can you really hear our comm frequency?" he asked as he started toward the medbay. I laughed.

"Yes. You guys use a frequency and encryption that my battlesuit automatically intercepts and decodes," I told him.

"Do all Heralds do that?" he wanted to know.

"Just field Heralds," I replied.

"There are other kinds?" He sounded surprised.

"Yeah. Field Heralds, Smiths, Guards…" I trailed off. "Slag. I can't remember the others, or what exactly those three groups do." Nightbeat reached up and gently rested one giant finger on my back. I felt his spark press against me for a moment. I sighed, grateful for the comfort the simple contact – both simple contacts, actually – brought.

_You must hurry, Herald. We have need of you,_ the ancient voice whispered in my head.

_Great. That's what you said…slag._ I couldn't remember what had happened the last time the voice had said that.

Then Nightbeat reached the medbay.

"Herald! Get over here!" Ratchet snapped. A familiar slender blue and silver form lay on the Cybertronian-sized berth. Oh, no. "Riella just came in. Prowl was with her. He said an orange man did this to her. She's fading, and I can't figure out what's wrong. You're the one who said all the unexplainable things were probably connected. You fixed Ironhide. Now fix her!" Nightbeat set me down on the berth next to the blue femme. I noticed Prowl hovering in the shadows. Oh, Primus. I surveyed the femme's still form and concentrated on her spark. It wasn't flowing through her whole body, like it had the last time I'd seen her. Instead, it was faint, concentrated in the region of her actual spark chamber.

"I hope one of them stepped on the orange man," I muttered. I could heel her spark growing even more faint. "Because if they didn't, I'm going to have to fight him for her spark."

Without waiting for an answer – I knew that the one who had done this was still alive; she wouldn't be fading any more if he'd died – I plunged every iota of my energy into Riella's small (for a Cybertronian) form, my consciousness following, then racing toward her spark chamber.

**Well, that's this chapter! I'm sorry for the little cliff at the end, there. just kinda happened. Please review – but if you're mad cause of what happened to Riella, please don't flame me! I'm not fireproof!**

**Anyway, some trivia to distract everyone from that chapter ending…**

**place this quote: "Hey, I recognize that…_thing._ It's a muh…it's a muh…it's a _mode lock!_ Of _course!_ … What's a mode lock?"**

**what does the OSAL stand for on Tailgate's arm? (MTMTE #2)**


	9. Chapter 8

**Okay, next chapter! Sorry for the cliffhanger last chapter, everyone!**

**So far, no bonus points for last chapter's trivia. Answers: the quote was from Skids in MTMTE #2. And OSAL is what's left of the BOMB DISPOSAL label on Tailgate's arm.**

**Disclaimer: I own Hope, Liraz, and Felis. And their planet, and their language, and their culture! But I do not own Riella. She belongs to T'Reilani. And everyone else belongs to Hasbro. Unless someone's managed to convince them to give ownership of the characters to the fans? No? Didn't think so. Darn.**

**Quick Heraldic dictionary: _mitilu_ means 'metal one'. _Aptlu_ basically means 'apprentice'. _Hata _means 'teacher'. _Sancalu _means 'forgotten one', and is used to refer to exiles, like Liraz, who have had their memories wiped. _Antorlu _means 'arrogant one'. **

**Cadets are Heralds who are near the end of their training, having completed their apprenticeship but not yet having mad it to Master rank. Masters are the strongest Heralds, fully trained, and able to take on apprentices of their own.**

**Anyway, this chapter might make more sense if you read Introducing Hope first. Just saying.**

Chapter 8

(Liraz's POV)

I raced through Riella's circuits, headed for her spark chamber. I could feel her pain, her fear, and it almost overwhelmed me. She was dying. I could feel it. And I was dying with her, because everything that made me who I was, memory gaps and all – everything that made me alive – was in her circuits right then, and if she died, I was fragged.

The "orange man" had to be a Herald – a Master Herald, if the strength and speed of his draining was any indication – and he was sucking up everything, every scrap of energy in Riella's body and spark.

I had been convicted of this very same crime – murdering an Autobot by draining his spark. I gathered myself and rushed through the femme's circuits as fast as I could. I had to get to her spark in time. I had to. She would not die. She would _not_.

Then I reached her spark chamber. A strong, male, heraldic presence blanketed her spark. And it was familiar. I couldn't identify it, but I recognized the consciousness that was killing Riella.

_Be gone, foul beast!_ I thought, trying to pry his mind away from Riella's spark.

_Liraz Tovinia. Have you finally decided to join me, my apprentice?_ That mental presence was very, very familiar. And he was obviously stupid. If I'd come to join him, why would I be trying to pull him away from Riella's spark?

_Nonal. Never. Slag off, you sorry excuse for a Herald! And release Riella's spark, or I'll force you out,_ I snapped. That sounded a lot braver – and stronger – than I felt right then. This guy's power made me look like an ant.

_You don't remember me, do you, Liraz? Yet you're paying for my crimes. Your cousin rejected me in hopes of saving you, did you know that? I actually came to this planet hunting her. I never dreamed I'd find you here. Not that I let her know that, of course. She thinks I'm after you,_ the Herald draining Riella informed me. _Have you seen your cousin, _aptlu_?_

_Even if I had, glitch-spawn, I wouldn't tell you!_ I snarled, yanking at his hold on the femme's spark some more, for all the good it did either of us. I could feel her fading.

_Such spirit, _aptlu_! But your strength is no longer a match for mine, not with my pets reinforcing me,_ he added cheerfully. Nobody should be cheerful while they were killing a Cybertronian. Nobody.

_We'll see about that, sand-for-brains!_ I retorted. My anger made me stronger – and, in hindsight, perhaps stupider. I spotted a hole in his grip, and rather than latch on to that and try to pull him away, I dove through it and into Riella's consciousness. _Riella! Hey! Technorganic cynic who doesn't trust me!_ I called. _You have to help me fight him!_ She stirred sluggishly, but a haze of pain kept her from really understanding what I was saying, much less helping. But it didn't keep her from voicing her distrust of me.

_How do I know you're not going to drain me, too?_ She muttered. _After all, you're orange, and he was orange…_

_So all Heralds are bad? You're an Autobot, and Ratchet's and Autobot, but somehow I can't picture you thumping people with a wrench, and he wouldn't go around stabbing people with those wrist blades I picked up when I scanned you when I first saw your full Cybertronian form!_ I sent a shock of energy into the core of her spark. _Besides, I'm trying to save you, you silly, cynical, distrusting femme! If you die, you won't be the only one. I'll be very dead, too, and Prowl won't last long without you, not if sparkmate bonds work for you Factionists the same way they do for Colonials! Prowl's doomed if we let orange guy win!_ I added. That got her attention.

_Fine._ Her thoughts, her spark-pulse, strengthened. She would _not_ let her sparkmate die. She would _not_ give up. She surged against the other Herald's hold, and I struggled right with her.

_Oh, foolish _aptlu_. You think one dying femme will be enough to save you?_ He laughed. I grimaced. Riella and I were straining against him with everything we had, and he was _laughing_.

_We are so fragged,_ Riella thought. The other Herald's grip was tightening. Riella was getting weaker. So was I, for that matter. We would be completely drained soon. I as beginning to despair. I considered offering to seal Riella's bond to Prowl, to keep her death from dooming him, too, but I held back.

How would a factionist result to even the idea of numbing a bond? It was a Colonial idea, and many sparkmates chose not to let their mate die just because they got killed. Others, the bond didn't work out, deteriorated, and both sparkmates were miserable. Numbing the bond separated them. But I couldn't see Prowl and Riella giving up any moment together, bonded. Even if it meant they both died.

_Hey, there, cousin. You've gotten yourself into quite a fix, haven't you?_ observed a familiar female voice. I struggled to place it even as the consciousness attached to it slid underneath the other Herald's hold.

_Um, I guess so. Would you be here to help me or the _antorlu_?_ I asked. A wave of sadness washed over me from the newcomer.

_You don't remember me, do you? I'm Hope Tovinia, your cousin. We trained together – _

_ On the high sands. I remember now,_ I told her.

_What about me?_ This new voice was also familiar, also female…but I couldn't place it, either.

_Sorry._

_ I'm Felis Prime, under Master Herald Hope Tovinia,_ came the introduction. The name didn't ring a bell, but the phrasing was familiar.

_Colonial, right? Wait. Hope, you made Master?_ I gasped.

_No thanks to my – our – _hata, she replied.

_Hey, sorry to interrupt the reunion, but I'm kind of DYING HERE!_ Riella shouted.

_Right. Sorry. You are almost spent. Let Felis and I take over,_ Hope ordered.

_Yes, Master Herald,_ I sighed dramatically, pulling back with Riella. Felis Prime and Hope threw themselves against the Herald draining Riella's energy.

_Fools! You should join me, not fight me!_ The Herald screamed. He was weakened – not by much, but it was noticeable – from fighting Riella and I. I could tell that Felis and Hope would succeed in getting rid of him.

_We will always stand against you, Cero! You, who were our _hata,_ should stand with us and not shatter out laws as you have done,_ Hope snarled. I decided that while she and Felis were making progress in pushing him – Cero – away from Riella's spark, they weren't doing it fast enough. I threw the last of my strength against Cero's hold, and together the three of us from Heer-olde forced him farther away from Riella's spark. With one last shove, he was gone.

_Thanks. I guess,_ Riella grumbled. I grinned inwardly.

_Same old Riella. You still don't trust me, do you? _ I asked.

_Not really. This whole thing could have been a setup,_ she pointed out.

_And this is why I prefer the company of Colonials,_ Hope muttered. _They're so much less wary of Heralds than these Factionists._ I ignored her and focused on Riella again.

_Rest up, okay? You're lot a lot of energy. Ratchet will take care of you, I'm sure,_ I added wryly. I tensed when I heard how faint my own voice was.

_You need some rest yourself, Liraz,_ Hope observed.

_Yeah…_ I could barely sense the others, now. Instead, a strong, steady spark – its pulse quickened with worry – called to me. I flowed out of Riella, but not back into my own body. The warpth and strength of that spark was pulling me in.

_Liraz? Where are you? Liraz!_ Hope called. I barely heard her. I was focusing on that lovely, warm spark. I needed a place to hide, to get away from where other Heralds could sense me.

_I'll be fine…I just…need to rest…_ I whispered, not knowing or caring if anyone heard me or not.

The heat of Nightbeat's spark surrounded me, cradled me, and I fell into what would have been sleep, had I been in my body.

**Okay, that's this chapter! Riella's safe, Hope has shown up, and Cero has been revealed as the villain! Please review! Flames will be used to, oh, I don't know…burn wood, I guess.**

**Anyway, trivia time! No one has gotten my MTMTE references, so I'll focus more on G1 this time.**

**who built the Technobots?**

**which Transformer supposedly has an 'indestructable spark'? (energon goodies if you can name the Predacon who was the result of an experiment trying to duplicate the indestructible spark)**

**what is the universal greeting? (just do your best on spelling)**


	10. Chapter 9

**Bonus points to T'Reilani for correctly answering to of last chapter's trivia questions!**

**Disclaimer: Liraz had it…darn…she's still hiding in Nightbeat's spark…let's see…what was it? Something about…oh! I remember! I don't own any canon Transformers! And something about Riella not being mine either…oh, duh. She belongs to T'Reilani. Hm. Maybe my character's amnesia is wearing off on me…**

**Has anyone been wondering what kind of alt modes Colonials might have?**

Chapter 9:

(Gebneral POV)

The Autobots in the room – Prowl, Ratchet, Nightbeat, and Ironhide – watched, terrified, as Riella's spark pulses grew slower and fainter. Two small orange forms were crumpled next to the unconscious femme, and a silver lioness was curled around them, also dead to the world. The watching Autobots could only wait. And hope.

Of course, Prowl was trying not to think about how completely illogical it was to depend on such small creatures to save his mate where even Ratchet was helpless. Then, the readout on Ratchet's equipment steadied, signaling the Riella's spark was no longer fading. In fact, it seemed to be getting stronger. Without knowing quite why, Nightbeat reached out and picked up Liraz's limp form. His spark instantly felt full to bursting, and his spark chamber seemed a little too small, like his spark had grown, but he wouldn't put her down. He wouldn't.

Prowl reached out and laid a hand on Riella's helm.

"The bond's open," he whispered. "She was blocking it before, but now she's not. She doesn't hurt anymore, Ratchet," he added, amazed. The other Herald – the one who had burst in with Ironhide, hovered up next to Riella, and then apparently passed out – stirred, but Liraz remained limp and seemingly lifeless in Nightbeat's hand. If it weren't for the barely-present beat of her heart, which he could feel faintly through her battlesuit, the detective would've panicked. If she stayed unconscious much longer, he might just panic anyway.

"Where is she?" mumbled the other Herald. Hope sat up, looking around for her cousin. Then she caught sight of the still form in Nightbeat's hands and let herself relax against the lioness' silver fur for a moment. "Oh, good. You've got her," she sighed. Her words seemed to convey more meaning than the Cybertronians could pick out.

"When do you think she'll wake up? Do you suppose she'll still be holding her when she does? And has this happened before?" the lioness rumbled. The mechs jumped; the last thing they had been expecting was a stream of questions from a lioness.

"For shame, Felis! Implying that my cousin's current situation might be her own fault!" Hope laughed. Privately, Hope wondered…_had_ her cousin woken up beside or being held by the unknown blue and gold mech before?

"Excuse me…but how is any of this Liraz's fault?" Ironhide demanded. The Herald gave him a strange, knowing smile.

"I'm not saying this is her fault – not the situation as a whole, anyway," she assured him. "But that?" she nodded to where Nightbeat still cradled her cousin's body. "Oh, that might very much be her fault."

"We have a saying back on Heer-olde, is all. It usually applies to two Colonials, but sometimes we use it with Heralds, too – and it seems like it would fit Liraz and Goldy-and-Blue just fine," the lioness elaborated – though by no means did that explain anything to the poor, confused mechs.

"My name is Nightbeat," the detective growled. Hope and the lioness looked at him for a long moment.

"Detective. You're the one who hacked our court records earlier, using Sentinel's codes," the lioness observed. Nightbeat blinked.

"I'm really going to have to mention that to Skikous when we get home," hope added conversationally. "She really should have made those codes invalid a long time ago."

"How did you…" Nightbeat trailed off. Ratchet stared at both of the newcomers. Ironhide sighed and shook his head. Prowl decided to become absorbed in watching Riella.

"I ran a search on Skikous' Factionist database using the designation 'Nightbeat'. We like to keep up-to-date on the Factions, in case we have to kill someone who knows too much about our planet," the lioness told them. Hope smiled to herself, thinking that Liraz probably wouldn't allow any more shut-them-up-before-they-tell-someone-something-they-shouldn't missions. Not against theses particular bots, anyway.

"You…ran a search…" Ratchet trailed off. Nightbeat's face cleared. He nodded to the lioness, understanding now what she was. The lioness twitched the metallic fur on her shoulders.

"Yes, I ran a search. Isn't that what I said? You'd think a medic would have better audio receptors…can't you run a search, buckethead?" she added sharply, fixing the medic with astonishingly green eyes.

"Of course I can – but I'm Cybertronian," Ratchet pointed out.

"And I'm Colonial," she replied. "Is that supposed to matter?"

"Ratchet, she's not what you think…" Nightbeat tried to interrupt.

"Oh, let him dig himself deeper. This will be fun to watch," Hope giggled. Nightbeat sighed.

"Be quiet, both of you," Ratchet ordered. He turned back to the silver lioness. "While I'm very impressed with your ability to talk, I didn't think any lioness, no matter how advanced, would be able to…"

"Wait a nanoklik. You think I'm an _advanced lioness_? How stupid are you Factionists?" the feline sounded offended, but her orange technorganic companion was laughing.

"Um. Yes?" Ratchet answered. Hope stopped laughing and looked at her companion. She nodded. The lioness…transformed. Gears, armor, bipedal form, the whole nine yards. She stood head and shoulders shorter than the Cybertronian mechs. Her armor shone silver, and her optics blazed impossibly green.

"How about now?" she inquired, smirking at the thunderstruck expression on everyone's face – everyone but Nightbeat, anyway. He'd known Colonials took organic alternate forms.

"Um. No?" Ratchet answered faintly. Nightbeat shook his head.

"I tried to warn you," he said as Hope started laughing again. He might have said more, but right then, the overflowing feeling in his spark vanished, and Liraz stirred.

**Sorry for the shortness of the chapter! The next one will probably bee a tad shorter than usual, too.**

**Okay, so what was everybody's reaction to Felis Prime? For an explanation of Colonial Primes, check out my story If Only My Future Didn't Look So Bleak. Did anyone figure out how Felis got her name? please review! Flames will be used to forge swords for more Heralds. Or maybe armor.**

**Anyway, just one trivia question this chapter!**

**Did anyone get my reference to a certain dead bot? If you've read If Only, you might recognize his name…Nightbeat also mentioned him a chapter or two ago…he betrayed both the Colonials and the Autobots – though him betraying the Autobots wasn't my idea. That was completely canon. Who is this bot?**


	11. Chapter 10

**Bonus points to:**

**T'Reilani – yes, Sentinel is the one who betrayed both the Colony and the Autobots.**

**Okay, so Riella is fine, Liraz is about to wake up…**

**Disclaimer: I own Liraz, Hope, Felis Prime, Heer-olde, and (unfortunately) Cero. I do not own Riella (she belongs to T'Reilani) or any canon characters (they belong to Hasbro).**

Chapter 10

(Liraz's POV)

I finally felt strong enough to leave the comforting warmth of the spark I'd taken refuge in and return to my own body. I carefully eased myself out of the pulsing heat of Nightbeat's spark and back where I belonged. And I tried to shake the feeling that I _belonged_ in the place I had just left. I opened my eyes. And I found myself cradled gently in the warm, living metal of Nightbeat's massive hand. I felt my cheeks heat up.

"Welcome back to the land of moving parts," Hope greeted me. I peeked over the edge of my impromptu berth and saw my cousin and (former) fellow apprentice smirking at me. I blinked. Why was she smirking?

"Tell us, Cadet Herald, how many times has _that_ happened?" inquired the voice of Felis Prime. The silver Colonial femme's helm was a little higher than my own position perched in Nightbeat's hands.

"What?" At first I didn't understand what she was talking about. I didn't know what 'that' was supposed to be. Then she fixed her green gaze on his hands for a moment, then looked back at me. "Oh." In the depths of my memory, a Colonial saying floated to the forefront of my mind. _"Happens once, fault to mech. Happens twice, fault to femme. Happens thrice, fault to fate; thus is the path of sparkmates."_ My face caught fire, and I was afraid to pull up my battle mask in case it melted.

"Liraz? Are you all right?" Nightbeat asked, lifting me closer to his face to examine me. I squeaked and dove off his hands, landing on the berth beside Riella, who was still unconscious – but I could feel her spark getting stronger. I took a moment to sigh in relief, then whirled on my cousin.

_"Non ligut tal!"_ I hissed in Heraldic. _It's not like that!_

_ "Non tel," _she replied. _Not yet._ Then she smirked some more. I debated drawing my dagger and poking her with it a few times, but realized that – in her mind, at least – that would only prove her point. And that was the last thing I wanted. Wasn't it?

A Herald and a Cybertronian – especially a Factionist – could never be together in the way she was implying, never be Heraldic Counterparts or Cybertronian sparkmates, because Heralds didn't have true sparks, and Cybertronians did. Right? And why was I even debating this with myself?

I shoved those thought to the back of my mind and noticed Hope was still smirking at me. She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, as though she knew exactly what I was thinking.

_"Non tel,"_ she repeated. I scowled at her and desperately searched for something to change the subject. Riella stirred. Thank goodness.

"Riella, are you all right?" Prowl inquired softly but urgently, echoing the question Nightbeat had asked me a few moments earlier. Blue optics onlined, and the slender femme sat up, her sparkmate supporting her gently.

"I…I think so, Prowler," she whispered. "Though I had a weird dream while I was unconscious. There were people talking in my head…"

"It wasn't a dream, Riella," I interrupted. "It was real. Cero tried to drain your spark. He almost succeeded." She stared down at me.

"Liraz." One word, and I knew she still didn't trust me. "He said something about hunting you." I hung my head.

"Yeah. He was my mentor back on Heer-olde. He's the one who did what I was convicted of – murdering Ironhide. He's hunting Hope and I, because we didn't join him. I'm sorry. He followed me here. It's my fault he attacked you," I admitted. Her optics narrowed.

"Wait a minute. The creep who killed Ironhide in the first place was in Riella's spark?" Prowl demanded.

"That was the 'orange man' you saw," I answered. "Cero."

"If he killed Ironhide, then why isn't our favorite weapons specialist dead?" Nightbeat asked pointedly. I shot him a confused glance. He knew; why was he…

"Because Liraz reignited my spark and rebuilt my body out of nothing," Ironhide said quietly.

"It left her drained; she hasn't been at full power since. Even now, she doesn't have all the strength she had on Heer-olde," Hope told everyone. "That's why Felis and I had to help her fight Cero. Well, that and the fact that Cero's been enslaving Decepticons and using their energy to amplify his own," she added. I tensed; something about her didn't seem right…"Liraz – and you Factionsists – are lucky we were here."

"Why _are_ you here, Hope? I thought you were recalled with all the other Tovinias to our family's lands because of my conviction," I said, the words coming easily as Nightbeat's spark pulsed faster.

"You're right, Liraz. All Tovinias _were_ called back. Even you. That's why I'm here – to take you back to Heer-olde," she told me. I froze as solid as water left out in the emptiness of space. Back to Heer-olde? Back to the high sands, back to the Oasis, back to the Tovinia lands? I was an exile, a _Sancalu_, a Forgotten One. It was my home, and I missed it, but…

"No. I'm not going back," I said. Involuntarily, I glanced at Nightbeat, then Ironhide, then Prowl and Riella, the last of which nodded grudgingly. Hope grimaced.

"Remember, Felis? We talked about this," my cousin murmured. The silver femme nodded. Before I could so much as blink, she snatched me from my place on the medical berth and darted for the open door. A familiar gold and blue hand shot out and seized her wrist. Felis stared into Nightbeat's cold blue optics.

Prowl gaped, holding Riella close. The femme started to get up. Ironhide and ratchet stared, unbelieving. Hope launched herself upward and landed on the back of Nightbeat's neck. An instant later, before any of the Autobots could move, he collapsed.

_"No!"_ I screamed.

"Come quietly, cousin," Hope ordered.

_"No! Nonal!" Never._ Then the pulse of energy hit me, and I sank into blackness.

** Okay, that's this chapter. Sorry, it's a little shorter than normal, but I split it into two – this one and chapter 9. Please review! Flames will be used to burn mean people like Cero.**

**This chapter's trivia:**

**There was a quote from G1 somewhere in this chapter. What was it, and where's it from?**

**why was Grimlock sent to Garrus-9?**


	12. Chapter 11

**I have a new poll up! Everyone please go to my profile and vote on your favorite generation of Transformers! **

**Also, the winner of my last poll was Halo. She will be starring in her own fanfic soon. Probably after I finish with Liraz's little vacation on earth.**

**Liraz: Hey! Vacation? I'd like to see you live through this story and call it a vacation!**

**Riella: for once, I agree with the Herald.**

**Me: oh, hush, you two. I'm trying to update people…**

**Riella & Liraz: you're rambling!**

**I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT! **

**Since I am still working on Desert Sunrise and Still Human, and have random plot bunnies popping into my head for stories I don't have typed yet, I have a challenge for all my lovely readers: I would love it if some people did little stories about Halo as a sparkling or youngling. Just some short fics, one-shots or two-shots or so. For information on Halo, go to my profile and look in the section labeled 'My OCs'. She's near the top. Just please let me know if/when you post them, or send them to me to post.**

**Okay, okay, here's the next chapter of Desert Sunrise! It's been ages!**

**Bonus points to T'Reilani for getting last chapter's trivia right!**

**Disclaimer: unfortunately, I have not been able to legally change my name to Hasbro…nor have I been able to purchase the company…apparently twenty bucks isn't enough money to buy a company…but I do own Liraz, Hope, Felis Prime, Cero, and any Colonials mentioned. Riella belongs to T'Reilani, which I'm sure Riella is grateful for, in light of the whole Cero-tries-to-drain-her-spark thing a few chapters ago…**

**Anyway, on to the story!**

Chapter 11

(Liraz's POV)

It took me longer than I liked to fight of the effects of the energy pulse. _EMP blast, to shut down my battlesuit and therefore my organic half,_ she realized vaguely. I wondered how Hope had known that I wouldn't return to Heer-olde willingly. Didn't I want to go home? Didn't I want to be acquitted of murdering Ironhide?

Honestly, I barely remembered my home. And as for what I did remember…well, the heat of the high sands wasn't too terribly different from the heat that pulsed in the core of Nightbeat's spark. The Colonials – if Felis Prime was anything to go by – weren't too different from the Factionists. I could hear the ancient voice here, on Earth, just as well as on Heer-olde, even if Earth was a lot colder than my home.

_You must not return to your home world. Your destiny is here, with our children._ And thinking of the ancient voice, there it was, offering sage and mostly useless advice as usual.

_You think I don't know that I can't go back? They'll execute me if I go back, and my own cousin is dragging me to my death. And what's all this slag about destiny and children?_ I demanded.

_Your cousin will not return you to your home world. we will not allow it, and neither will your allies. By the way, you might consider activating your homing beacon and tuning it to a secure Autobot frequency. Your allies are searching for you._

_ Allies? I didn't know I had allies,_ I mused. Autobot frequency? Were the Autobots searching for me?

_Four of them,_ the voice whispered. _Now, pretend to be unconscious. Your captors are coming to check on you._ Following the voice's advice, I kept my eyes lightly closed, my breathing soft and even, and my battlesuit deployed over most of my body, just the way it deployed itself while I was unconscious.

"She's still out. I should have known," Hope sighed.

"Yes, you were always the stronger of my two students, _aptlu_." I nearly tensed, but just barely managed to stay relaxed. That was Cero's voice, the voice of the presence who had nearly killed Riella, the voice of the Herald who had killed Ironhide, the voice of the Herald who had destroyed my life. Plus, he was wrong. I had once been much stronger than Hope. Was that why she had betrayed me, knocked me out and brought me to Cero? "Tell me something, _aptlu_. Did you really have to fight me and save that worthless technorganic femme? I could have extinguished her spark and crushed Liraz at the same time, if you hadn't interfered!"

_Riella isn't worthless!_ The thought burst into my mind. I wanted to leap up and strangle Cero. Slowly. No Cybertronian was worthless, even a Factionist, especially not an Autobot, and definitely not the technorganic femme who – while she was slow to trust – was as fierce and loyal as any of her comrades.

"We've been over this, _hata._ I had to know how much Liraz remembered, how much she could have told the Factionists," my cousin reminder our former mentor.

"And?" he prompted.

"And nothing. She didn't even recognize Felis as the one who testified against her at her trial, and she didn't even remember what actually happened before she was convicted. We can leave her on the high sands and have nothing to worry about," Hope told Cero.

_She's lying. Does she even realize how much of that isn't true?_ I wondered.

"The Dolt made good on his promise. Just like Leora after she interfered, Liraz knows nothing," my cousin said.

_I do now,_ I thought, somehow relieved. I knew they were going to dump me on Heer-olde, and probably let the Colonial Guard do the dirty work and kill me. I knew I probably had a very short time to live, especially if we were already on the way to the desert I had once called home.

So I delved into what memories I had.

I remembered Ironhide speaking up for me to Optimus. I remembered waking up on Nightbeat's chest, remembered feeling his spark brush my spirit. I remembered fighting alongside Riella, and how she claimed she still didn't trust me. I remembered waiting inside Nightbeat's spark for my energy to build up again. I remembered waking up in Nightbeat's huge but gentle hands.

I remembered the way he'd tried to stop Felis and Hope from taking me. And I remembered what the ancient voice had told me. I activated my homing beacon, tuning it to the Autobot comm frequency, the pulse spreading with me at its center. I sent one pulse, then another three heartbeats later. I waited five heartbeats before I sent the next one, then two, sending them at random intervals so they would be harder for Hope to detect. I hoped.

And yes, I could appreciate the irony right there.

_::Nightbeat to Liraz.::_

_ ::Nightbeat, you do realize you'll alert Hope, too, don't you?::_

_ ::Oops. Sorry, Ironhide.::_ I held my breath. One agonizing heartbeat passed. Then two. Then I felt it: the achingly familiar touch o Nightbeat's spark.

_Did you forget about Hope, _bivilu, _or was that all staged for Hope and Cero's benefit?_ I asked.

_Neither. It was Prowl's strategy. With luck, your mentor will think it's just Ironhide and I looking for you,_ Nightbeat added cheerfully.

_Be careful; Hope was helping Cero all along,_ I warned. _And Felis probably can't wait for an excuse to run you through. Please stay safe, _bivilu,_ and keep _mitilu _safe, too. I'd hate to have to resurrect him again,_ I added.

_What is with you and giving people nicknames in your language?_ The detective asked. I couldn't hold back a smile. He'd noticed. My whole body felt overly warm.

_It's just a habit, I guess. Please tell me the _matonilu _isn't coming, though,_ I added. _I so do not need to be rescued by him._

_ I don't know what _matonilu_ means, or who that might refer to,_ Nightbeat told me.

Matonilu _means 'grumpy one',_ I replied.

_Ratchet?_

_ Bingo._

_ He's not coming. Prowl is the one you're going to look for. He'll have Riella with him – just fair warning. When you see them, get over to them as soon as you can. They'll get you out, and we'll pull back, figure out what to do next,_ he told me.

_Step on them – Hope and Cero both,_ I advised. Nightbeat's mingled amusement and worry – and something else, something I didn't dare identify – washed over me. Again, I couldn't stop myself from smiling.

"Do you think she's dreaming?" Hope's voice whispered. Again, I had to fight the urge to tense up. "Or could she be awake?"

"I can't imagine what she'd have to smile about if she were awake," Cero replied. "But what could she be dreaming about?"

"The blue and gold detective, Nightbeat," Hope answered immediately. I managed to hold back the heat that was trying to rush to my cheeks yet again without giving myself away.

_Am I really that easy to read? Am I really that obvious?_ I asked myself. And then I thought, _Obvious about what? It's not like she's right…right?_ And then I had to work harder at lying to myself, because when Nightbeat's spark brushed my spirit again, I suddenly remembered what I'd called him.

_Bivilu._

I really, really needed to start putting some effort into lying to myself. Convincingly. Like, immediately.

As if to punctuate this resolution, something exploded.

_Activate your shield, quick!_ Nightbeat warned. I obeyed, heedless of Hope and Cero still nearby. Finally, I opened my eyes. I was in a small room with no obvious exits, and one window – the fancy Herald-proof kind.

_Containment unit, meant for rogue Heralds,_ I realized. I didn't want to know how I knew that. So I focused on the sudden sense I had of every spark in the area – Nightbeat, Ironhide, Riella, Felis Prime, and another presence I assumed was Prowl, though I hadn't had enough contact with him to know for sure.

Then a silver lioness smashed through the fancy Herald-proof window. She transformed and snatched me up, her hand passing right through my shield. Frag. She's gotten armor upgrades.

"Hello, Liraz," Felis Prime greeted me. Her silver faceplates were tense with anxiety. "Your cousin has a ride arranged for you." As I puzzled over this remarkable turn of events, Felis climbed out of the containment unit and raced down the hallway, carrying me with her. She bolted through an open portal in the side of the ship and came to an abrupt stop.

A familiar motorcycle was waiting, and an even more familiar technorganic was riding it.

"Riella? Prowl?" I whispered.

"Well, come on," Riella snapped. "Unless you want to stay here." Felis set me down, and I climbed on behind the technorganic. "Let's go, Prowl. Our diversion won't last much longer." The motorcycle-who-was-Prowl-in-his-alt-mode leaped forward, engine revving. I yelped and clung to Riella to keep from falling off.

"Why are you helping Nightbeat and Ironhide save me?" I shouted over the roar of Prowl's engine. Riella laughed, but it was Prowl who answered.

"You helped save her life. Even if she doesn't trust you, I felt obligated to assist in your rescue," he told me.

"And I wasn't going to let him run off saving untrustworthy Heralds without me," Riella added. I smiled, glad that neither of them could see my face. Maybe I really did have allies – not just a mech I'd saved and a mech I called _bivilu._ Maybe it wasn't so bad that I'd decided at some point to stay here, on earth – or wherever these Autobots were. Especially a certain gold and blue Autobot.

**Okay, so that's this chapter! What did everyone think? Please review! On second though, review or I'll…I'll…flood something of yours with Jell-O! XD kidding. **

**Anyway, I'm running out of bonus points, so this time I'm going to snatch some Energon goodies for people who get me trivia questions!**

**Fanfiction/OC trivia: who is 'the Dolt' Hope referred to? Hint: it's in my first Heraldic story, _If Only My Future Didn't Look So Bleak._**


	13. Chapter 12

**Sorry, no one get the trivia from last chapter.**

**The answer was: 'The Dolt' is Dolf, who was basically Leora Tovinia's shadow because he was supposed to be spying on her. He's also the one who wiped her memory at the end of _If Only_. Dolf was the Herald who helped Sentinel betray the Colonials.**

**Big thank-you to everyone who's reviewed so far!**

**And to my lovely guest reviewers: I appreciate your reviews, even if I can't PM you to say so like I can with the non-guests reviewers. **

**Anyway, don't forget about the Halo challenge and voting for your favorite generation on my poll!**

**Disclaimer: I own Liraz, Hope, Felis Prime, Cero (unfortunately), the world they come from, and all canon TFs…**

**Liraz: Hey! You do not! *pulls out sword* take it back!**

**New Disclaimer: I own no canon TFs *pouts* but I do own my bullying characters. Riella belongs to T'Reilani.**

Chapter 12

(Liraz's POV)

I had to close my eyes because the sight of so many squishy organic humans and their vehicles shooting past me was making me more and more anxious. In fact, I was bordering on a panic attack. Why did we have to go through a city anyway? Why couldn't we have taken a nice country route?

"This is shorter, it'll be harder for your charming mentor to catch up to use, and easier to rendezvous with Nightbeat and Ironhide without getting noticed," Riella called over her shoulder. Oops. I guess I asked the last part out loud.

_Liraz?_ Nightbeat whispered in my mind. _We had to leave the ship. Are you with Riella and Prowl?_

_ Yeah. We got away – and Felis helped me. What's up with that? Hope's her Herald; I can't believe that a Colonial Prime would go against her Herald,_ I mused. _Are you and _mitilu_ all right?_

_ Right behind you, _came the answer. I opened my eyes and forced my self to glance over my shoulder. Behind Prowl's speeding – but not over the speed limit – form was a huge black truck and a sleek blue sports car.

_::Are you all right, Liraz?::_ Ironhide asked.

_::I'm fine, _mitilu_. I can handle a little EMP blast. It just took a while to wear off,::_ I assured him. I felt Nightbeat brush my spirit again.

_I'm _fine, bivilu,I thought with a smile. So much for lying to myself, I guess.

_Good. I know you said you were with Riella and Prowl, and I can see you're not bleeding to death or anything, but…It's good to know that I don't have to go back and stomp on Hope as well as Cero._

_ It's not like they had time to do anything to me. I'd barely woken up when you showed up,_ I told him cheerfully. My resolution to start convincingly lying to myself about what it meant to call Nightbeat _bivilu_ tucked itself neatly into the back of my mind, where it wouldn't get noticed. I sighed and relaxed a tad as our caravan sped out of the human city.

_Do not relax just yet, _atuda, the ancient voice whispered, plucking the Heer-oldec word for "daughter" out of my head.

_I'm not your daughter,_ I snapped.

_Not yet,_ the ancient voice agreed. _But soon you will join the ranks of our children._ I frowned.

_Really, now? You sure of that? Maybe your Magic 8 Ball broke. And who the slag are your 'children'?_ I demanded. _For that matter, who – and what – are you?_ I'd never thought to wonder about that before – where the ancient voice came from, or why it spoke to me.

_You know our children as well as we do,_ came the reply. _They are all around you. As for us…we are far older than you could imagine, _atuda,_ though our current form is no older than three of your people's generations._ The meaning of this comment seemed just out of reach. _Do not concern yourself with us, _atuda._ You will shortly have more pressing matters._

_ How shortly is 'shortly'?_ I asked. An explosion answered that question and threw all of us off the human-made road. Riella transformed as she leaped clear of Prowl's alt mode, landing in her Cybertronian bipedal form with wrist-blades out, ready for battle. Prowl and the others transformed as well. I flew through the air, trying to activate my anti-grav boosters. Apparently, I wasn't as recovered from the effects of the EMP blast as I'd thought, because my battlesuit didn't respond.

Nightbeat leaped and snatched my falling self out of the air. He landed heavily with me held gently in his hand.

_::Everyone back to alt mode! There might be humans nearby!::_ Prowl ordered.

_::Not live humans, not outside the city – not if that thing's anything to go by,::_ I observed. A hulking – truly hulking, like ten times the size of a regular Cybertronian – multicolored mech lumbered toward us on four legs like some kind of horribly mutated canoid.

_::Frag! It's Devastator!:: _Ironhide growled.

_::I thought he was killed in Egypt years ago,::_ Nightbeat objected. _::that's what the report said, anyway.::_

_ ::He was killed. Somehow, he's alive again. Obviously, being dead isn't a permanent condition anymore,::_ Riella muttered dryly with a glance at Ironhide.

_::Hope or Cero,::_ I guessed. _::Probably Cero; Hope's not very good at the whole resurrection thing,::_ I added, surprising myself.

_::And Hope wouldn't revive a Decepticon any more than you would,::_ Prowl objected.

_::If a Decepticon was killed because of or by a Herald or Colonial, it would be my duty as a field Herald to revive him, especially if it wasn't his fault,::_ I informed them.

_::Why?::_ Riella asked. Her expression said her distrust of me had just quadrupled.

_::Because that is the way of the Tovinias – to right wrongs, regardless of our personal beliefs,:: _I answered. But inwardly, I had to ask myself…would I really bring a Decepticon back to life? When doing so would only let a threat to these Autobots – a threat to Nightbeat – live on the cause more trouble?

_::Could we debate reviving Decepticons at some other time?::_ Ironhide roared. The Autobots faced the enormous, supposed-to-be-dead Decepticon.

"What's the plan?" Nightbeat asked out loud.

"Call for backup, and try not to die," I advised grimly. "I don't have enough strength to bring anyone back to life right now."

"Gee, thanks, Orangey," Riella muttered. I glared at her.

"Orangey?" I repeated.

_::Ironhide to Optimus. We've got a situation,::_ the big black mech reported.

_::What kind of situation?:: _Optimus replied.

_::It's Devastator. We need backup.::_ The creature roared. Three Earth air transports – jets, the humans called them – appeared in the sky and transformed, revealing themselves as Decepticons – Seekers.

"We're so fragged," I muttered.

"Four of us against four Decepticons? That's interesting, not doomed," Riella snapped.

"First of all, there are five of us. Second of all, those are Seekers and a guy about the size of a spaceship. There won't be enough of us left to fill a teaspoon," Nightbeat grumbled. Riella and Prowl exchanged incredulous glances, then looked at me.

"Oh, don't start. I can fight. I've spent my whole life learning to fight glitches like these," I told them sharply. I pulled my battlesuit to full, covering my body in the highest-quality armor known to my people. My lower face was covered by my mask, my eyes covered by shielding like the force-field-type shield I usually deployed farther from by body, so I could see. My swords appeared in their sheathes on my back, and my anti-grav boosters showed themselves over the sheathes.

"Hey, look, Ramjet! That human has a shell!" the blue Seeker exclaimed. His voice was deep and thick. I scowled beneath my battle mask. I triggered my boosters and rocketed toward the Seeker who'd spoken. Riella launched herself at the red one next to him, Prowl on her heels. Ironhide cursed and headed for Devastator, and Nightbeat hesitated, obviously torn between helping me and going after the white Seeker.

Then I tuned out everything but my opponent. I drew my blades an instant before I reached him and sliced through the wires exposed by a gap between the armor on his body and the armor on his arm. Energon spurted and splashed my armor. I landed for a heartbeat on his now-injured shoulder. He tried to smack me away. I leaped just in time, somersaulting over his head as he accidentally smacked his own shoulder. I landed on his other shoulder and slashed his wing. He let out a pained yell as I launched myself away from him.

"Stupid Seeker mech," I muttered. "I keep telling people; I'm not human."

"But I'll bet you'll still squash!" one of the other Seekers – the white one, the one the blue mech had called Ramjet – growled. He tried to snatch me out of the sir, but I slashed the nerve-wires in his palm for his trouble before I darted away. The third Seeker, the red one, tried to blast me. I dropped quickly, and the blast hit the white Seeker. "Thrust, you fool! Don't shoot it! Grab it! Squish it!" The red one started to obey, but Riella leaped and sliced his arm. I grinned at the Autobot femme, and she grinned back for a moment, the battle bringing everyone closer for an instant. Then the moment passed, and Riella's optics widened in horror. I spun around and saw the white Seeker's good hand about to grab me. I let out a startled yelp…and another hand snatched me out of harm's way.

Nightbeat had leaped into the air higher than I'd known he could in order to whisk me away from Ramjet. He lost his balance as he landed and fell to one knee with a grunt.

_Are you all right?_ he asked, his warm spark seeming to search my spirit for any damage.

_Fine, _bivilu._ I could have handled him,_ I added.

_I know, but – _The Seeker the Riella had slashed, the one she and Prowl had attacked in the first place, appeared behind Nightbeat. He roared triumphantly as he plunged his cruel claws into the detective's back. Nightbeat cried out in shock and pain as he started to fall forward.

_"No!"_ I screamed.

_I'm…I'm all right, Liraz. I'll live,_ he assured me. The Seeker reared back again, preparing to rip open the blue and gold mech's back. Held gently but firmly in the detective's back, I couldn't do anything but watch in a kind of horror-induced slow motion as those terrible claws descended once more.

"Slag off, glitchspawn!" Riella snarled as she tackled the Seeker, who had apparently been grounded by a shot to one of his wings. I squirmed free of Nightbeat's hold. The ground shook ominously. Devastator had nearly arrived. The blue Seeker, the one whose shoulder and wing I had slashed, landed heavily behind Nightbeat/ he had a laser rifle…aimed at Nightbeat's unprotected back.

_No! I can't let him shoot Nightbeat! He's mine!_ I thought fiercely.

Then I did something that, as a Cadet Herald, I knew I had sworn on my life never to do. I closed my eyes and reached out for the Seeker's spark. I found it easily, pulsing with pain and excitement. I reached out and inhaled deeply. But I didn't inhale air; I inhaled the energy of the Seeker's spark. When I exhaled, the last bit of spark energy was blown out. I was overflowing with energy – energy I'd stolen. Stolen energy could never be used for healing, however desperately I wanted to pour it into Nightbeat to heal the wounds in his back. Stolen energy was only good for death.

I knew I couldn't hold Devastator's spark's energy as well as the blue Seeker's. and I knew that while Ironhide was standing in front of the monster, firing into its vulnerable joints, he would never be able to bring the monster down from the outside. Devastator plodded onward, ignoring Ironhide's attempts to injure it. I flew toward them.

Instead of absorbing Devastator's spark energy like I had absorbed the blue Seeker's, I took all of the extra energy from the blue Seeker – all that energy that was no good for healing – and channeled it into the giant's spark chamber.

The monster's spark overloaded. Its chest exploded. As bits and pieces of monster flew toward me, I realized I was too close. I started to activate my shield, but I was too late. A chunk of debris – small by Devastator's standards, enormous by mine – hit me. I fell out of the sky with an angry shout. It hadn't hurt, really, just knocked me down. What hurt was hitting the ground. I gasped in pain, feeling my anti-grav boosters snap off. I lost my grip on my blades as I rolled, trying desperately to get away from the falling pieces of Devastator.

The giant swayed and fell. I'd expected him to collapse, to fall straight down. He didn't. Instead he fell forward…right on top of me.

I screamed. The huge thing – could I even be called a mech? – hit me, face first. The world – the suddenly small, dark, and excruciatingly painful, crushing world – faded away.

Distantly, as though I was observing someone else, I noted that my lungs had been crushed and my heart had stopped. My energy faded.

_Nightbeat…_ I couldn't even sense his spark.

I was going to die, and I wouldn't even be able to touch his spark again.

_Time to become our child,_ whispered the ancient voice.

**Okay, so what does everyone think? Reviews inspire me to update quickly! But flames are not fun. **

**Anyway, trivia this chapter: who is the blue Seeker, the one Liraz killed? And does anyone know who/what the ancient voice is? Anyone who's read _If Only_ should be able to guess. (I hope)**

** Energon goodies to anyone who gets the trivia right!**

** Liraz: YOU KILLED ME!**

** No, I didn't. Devastator did.**

** Liraz: YOU KILLED ME!**

** Yeah…I'm gonna run now…**


	14. Chapter 13

**Okay, I got the next chapter! Maybe Liraz will stop chasing me with a sword now…**

**Trivia: the blue Seeker was Dirge. Apparently I forgot that there is more than one blue Seeker…Riella was so sure it was Thundercracker…**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Riella – she belongs to T'Reilani – and I don't own the canon characters. They belong to Hasbro. I've been trying to get Liraz to help me convince Hasbro to give me the TFs, but she's mad at me for letting Devastator crush her, so…yeah.**

(Liraz's POV)

I started to roll over – the sun was in my eyes, and I didn't feel like waking up – and stopped. Everything hurt. Everything. What had happened?

_Oh, yeah. Devastator took a nosedive onto me,_ I remembered. _I'm dead now. Aren't I?_

Even thinking hurt.

"Slag," I hissed. It hurt to talk, but for some reason talking seemed like a good thing, even if I was dead. "Molten, fragging, debris-ridden, slagging, _slag_."

"You're awake!" Ironhide's voice. What was Ironhide's voice doing talking to me? I was dead. Was he dead, too? I really hoped not…

"Ouch." Waitaminute. If everything hurt, and Ironhide was talking to me, and the sun was still in my eyes…and I was thinking…I couldn't be dead, could I?

"I was afraid the transformation would kill you, once it started. I thought you were dead when I dug you out from under Devastator's ugly corpse. Riella's the one who told me to bring you out here, away from the others," Ironhide said. I opened my eyes and managed not to wince. Except opening my eyes wasn't a gradual thing, like usual. Instead of my eyelids easing open, it was like someone had flipped a switch on.

"Transformation?" I repeated, staring up at the cold blue Earth sky.

"Yeah. Why don't you sit up and have a look at yourself?" the black mech suggested. I tried. My movement was accompanied by a screaming pain and the hum of new machinery. What the frag? I tilted my head – more faint mechanical humming – and looked down at myself.

My orange skin and metallic battlesuit were gone, replaced by orange and black cabling and plating. A Cybertronian body. Not even a Colonial body; a Factionist body. I could see the difference in the armor design, feel the difference in the pulsing in my chest where my heart had been.

"Impossible," I whispered.

"That's what I thought, too," Ironhide's voice agreed gruffly. "But it happened. I think Riella realized what was going on; that's why she told me to take you away. I was hoping you would have some idea how this happened." I started to say I had no clue, but then I remembered.

_Time to become our child._ The ancient voice.

_You did this,_ I accused.

_Yes, we changed you. You are truly our daughter, our _atuda,_ now. And as our _atuda_, you shall have a new name. you are Sandflame, our daughter. As such, you should know: We are the Matrix._ Then the voice went silent. I stared up at Ironhide, who was standing nearby. He wasn't nearly as far up as he had been the last time I'd seen him.

"The Matrix," I whispered. Sudden knowledge flowed over me. "It's housing was forged three Heraldic generations ago by Gypsanna A'Tovinia before it was stolen by Sentinel and ended up in the possession of your seven ancient Primes, who used it as a key to their star harvester instead of as a guide, like the Colonials designed it for. I can hear its voice in my head. Some Tovinias can. It is our heritage as descendants of Leora and Gypsanna. The Matrix said I'm its daughter now, and named me Sandflame." Ironhide stared down at me.

"What?" Disbelief widened his optics. "Liraz?"

"I'm Sandflame now, daughter of the Matrix," I said softly. Then I shook myself. "Help me up. I need to find an alternate form. Are there any deserts here on Earth?" my words seemed to draw Ironhide out of an almost trance-like state of shock and disbelief.

"Oh. Deserts. Yes, there are some on Earth. Why?" I started to roll my eyes – optics, now – and stopped. It felt different. Everything felt different. I inhaled, and tanks filled instead of lungs expanding. Instead of my heart beating, I could feel my spark pulsing.

"I need an alt mode," I repeated. Then it hit me. I was Cybertronian.

_I can step on Hope and Cero myself now!_ I thought. Then I thought…_Even if I could prove myself innocent of the crime my memory was wiped for – murdering Ironhide – I drained that Seeker's spark and overloaded Devastator. I can never return to Heer-olde. I can never go home._ I remembered thinking I would stay with the Autobots, and being happy with that…but the idea that I had committed the very crime I was banished for made my spark twist. _Heer-olde really isn't my home anymore._

_ So make yourself a new home. You already chose to stay with a certain detective, didn't you?_ the ancient voice – the Matrix – reminded me. I smiled to myself.

Nightbeat. My spark warmed. Was he all right? I remembered one of the Seekers had clawed his back open, and another had nearly shot him. And what about Prowl and Riella? Were they all right?

"How will a desert help you find an alt mode? A city or town would be better," he told me. "More vehicles, you know." I shook my head, distracted from wondering about the others for a moment.

"I want an animal form, a proper desert one like Colonials have. I might not be able to go back to Heer-olde, but I want to remember my old home," I said. Reluctantly, he nodded.

"There's a desert close by," he admitted. "Though on foot it will take a day or two to reach it." I grimaced.

_What do I do? _

_Transform down, _atuda, the Matrix ordered. _For now, you still have your original form. But be aware that you can only hold one organic shape at a time._

I wanted to ask what that all meant, but the Matrix's presence in my mind faded. So I focused on the first thing it had told me: transform down.

I closed my eyes – again, like flipping a switch instead of actually closing my eyes – and focused. Something in me shifted. I opened my eyes – actual eyes, this time, not optics – and found myself much smaller. I looked down at myself. I looked like me again.

"Did I know I could do that?" I asked.

"I sure didn't," Ironhide muttered.

**I realize that OCs becoming Cybertronian yet keeping their original form has been done quite a bit – T'Reilani's Riella and DaemonicKitten's Bella come to mind – but I hope everyone likes the way I've done Liraz's transformation into Sandflame. Please review – though flames will be used to make energon goodies for people who get trivia right!**

** Speaking of trivia…**

** Name as many canon Seekers as you can! Let's see how many people can remember!**


	15. Chapter 14

**Wheeee! New chapter! And Liraz/Sandflame didn't kill me for letting Devastator fall on her!**

**A dozen energon goodies each to T'Reilani and jmqe! There are so many Seekers out there!**

**Everyone else: come on! I'm sure you at least know Starscream! Why don't more people answer my trivia questions?**

**Anyway, I own Liraz/Sandflame, and I own Hope, and I own Cero (who I'm trying to find…he ran away when I told Liraz not to worry, she'd get to stomp on him while I wrote this next chapter. If you see him, let me know…), and I own Felis Prime… but Riella is currently thanking Primus that she belongs to T'Reilani, because Riella would really not be happy if I let Devastator fall on _her_ (though she has been griping about the fact that I let Cero nearly kill her…). And I think every canon character in existence is grateful I don't own them right now, especially Devastator; he'd get sick of falling on people and squishing them.**

**And now, on to the story!**

Chapter 14

(Liraz/Sandflame's POV)

The desert wasn't the same as the one on Heer-olde, the one I'd trained on, the one I remembered. The high sands were open and filled with dunes that could change position or disappear completely in an hour or less. The high sands were baked by a scorching, sky-dominating orange sun, blasted by hot, dry winds that only stopped for the year's one drizzle of rain, and inhabited by creatures that could harvest energon particles from the air.

This desert…the ground was parched dirt filled with grit and rocks. The animals were not metallic, weren't as large as the ones on the high sands. The sun was small, distant, and yellow-white. The winds blew, but it was dusty instead of sandy, and didn't blast anything without _brant_ armor. It rained here several times a year, and the animals stored water or knew the secret places to find it.

But…some of the animals would make decent alternate forms for newly-Cybertronian-me. I debated for a while between a hawk and an owl, before I remembered that I knew less about flying than I did about Earth.

A sharp yap of excitement drew my attention to a small furry creature with large black-tipped ears and a narrow snout. I crouched, in my Cybertronian form once again. I'd ridden in Ironhide's alt mode to the desert in my original Heraldic form, then transformed back to my new all-metal body once we arrived.

Now I focused on the slender canoid creature (Ironhide called it a bat-eared fox when I asked him about it on the way back a while later). The scan triggered automatically. I stepped forward and changed. The same Cybertronian technology that allowed me to shrink to the size of my original form allowed me to transform to the actual size of the fox I'd scanned.

My fur was more orange than the real animal's, though, and my black markings were more clear-cut than anything a furred Earth creature would have naturally.

"I have to admit, Liraz, I'm impressed," Ironhide rumbled.

"My name is Sandflame now, _mitilu,_" I reminded him. "At least while I'm in my Cybertronian root and alt modes. I don't know how my darling cousin and former mentor will react to my transformation, so I'd rather not advertise it," I added. Suddenly, I realized that I didn't know how my allies among the Autobots had reacted to my transformation. "_Mitilu,_ what did the Autobots think of all this?" I asked. "Is Nightbeat all right? What about Riella and Prowl? Did you get rid of the last two Seekers?"

Ironhide transformed to his alt mode and popped open the driver's side door. I hopped inside in my neat new little foxy form. I wondered why he hadn't answered right away, but was willing to wait for him to answer in his own time; he'd been extremely helpful so far.

"Um…the others don't know. I think Riella guessed – I think I've mentioned that before – and I don't know how much she might have told the others. But…as far as I know, no one but me knows you're Cybertronian now," he admitted as he rolled through the desert's edge, back toward the road that would take us back to the Autobot base. I felt my ears lay back.

"And Nightbeat?" I whispered.

"I don't know. Ratchet was there, so I'm sure he's fine…but I've had my comm turned off since I took you and left," Ironhide told me. I nodded, understanding. He'd wanted to keep me safe, and hadn't been sure how the others would react. I sighed. Understanding didn't mean it wasn't inconvenient. "Oh, and Liraz – I mean Sandflame?"

"Yeah?" I forced my worries out of my mind. I would see for myself soon enough.

"Please try not to shed too much on my interior."

(Normal POV)

"Any word from Ironhide?" Riella asked. Jolt, who was stuck monitoring communications, shook his head at the femme who had just come into the room.

"None. And if you're about to say Nightbeat's wondering, I'll go ahead and tell you that we haven't heard from Liraz, either," the blue mech added. Riella grimaced.

"He won't rest properly until he knows what happened to her. 'She was alive when I saw her last' doesn't seem to be helping him any," she added. "He was muttering something about not being able to find her in his spark." Jolt jerked his attention away from the monitors and stared at Riella.

"But…he makes it sound like they were courting or something," he protested. Riella nodded.

"It does, doesn't it? What's your opinion on that, as Ratchet's apprentice?" she inquired. Jolt gave her a grimace of his own.

"Ratchet says I'm not allowed to have opinions until I've completed my training," he told her sadly. Riella smiled slightly.

"All right. I'll go tell Nightbeat," she sighed. She turned to leave and stopped short. Two Cybertronians stood in the Autobot-sized doorway. One was Ironhide. The other was an unknown femme, slender and elegant, with burnt-orange armor on her limbs and midnight-black armor on her body. Nothing about her slightly curved build suggested what her alt mode might be. There were two swords on her back, one hilt showing over each shoulder. Her optics were the same electric green as Felis Prime's had been. "Um, Jolt? You must be really doing a great job watching those monitors, since you totally caught these two coming in," Riella muttered. The blue mech turned away from the monitors and stared.

"Riella, Jolt, this is Sandflame," Ironhide announced. The femme bowed.

"Greetings, Factionists. I was sent to this planet to retrieve the rogue Herald, Cero Lotiv," she told them.

"But Hope and Felis told us that Liraz was the only one who should handle Cero," Riella objected. "And now you're going to what, go stomp on him?" Sandflame gave the Autobot femme a sly smile.

"If I'm lucky," she agreed. "Hope and Felis were trained with Liraz and by Cero, but they didn't know Liraz Tovinia like I did. I can handle anything that Liraz could. Speaking of Hope and Felis, have they left the planet yet?"

"No. They're here to help Liraz. I don't think they'll leave until Orangey gets her name cleared and they can take her back to Heer-olde. Which won't be a moment too soon," Riella muttered. Sandflame gave Riella a curious look.

"You didn't like Liraz?" she questioned. Riella shrugged.

"I don't trust her. I don't know what else to think about her. She saved my life, but I don't know why. The way she showed up – and the way some mechs act around her – I'd be suspicious of anyone, especially little orange technorganics whose personal shields can stop a Decepticon," the femme sighed.

"And there was a problem with their ship. They couldn't leave even if they wanted to," Jolt added. Ironhide glanced at the orange and black femme.

"Is Nightbeat all right? I saw him get hurt," Ironhide asked.

"Right before you ran off with the Herald, right?" Jolt muttered.

"Shut up, Jolt. Nightbeat will be fine, but he's worried sick about Liraz. You had her, Ironhide. How is she?" Riella asked. "She was alive when we pulled her out from under Devastator…" Ironhide glanced at Sandflame.

"Cadet Herald Liraz Tovinia, convicted of draining the spark of a Factionist, sentenced to lifelong exile from Heer-olde and a partial memory wipe, died of her injuries," the slender femme said quietly.

"There was nothing I could do," Ironhide added. Jolt gaped at them. Riella started to say something, then looked at Sandflame and said nothing.

"I'd…better tell Nightbeat…" Jolt whispered.

"No. You're on monitor duty. I'll tell him," Riella snapped. "I'll tell him everything." She gave Sandflame a significant look.

"I'll go with. I knew Liraz," the orange and black femme put in. she glanced at Ironhide, her optics searching.

"I'm staying here. We need to see if we can pinpoint Cero's ship," the black mech grumbled. Sandflame nodded slowly. She turned to Riella.

"Lead the way."

(Liraz/Sandflame's POV)

As I followed Riella out of the comm room, I worried about Nightbeat. What kind of condition would he be in? Would he be upset when I told him I'd died? Would Ratchet even let an unfamiliar femme into the medbay to see a mech she wasn't supposed to know?

"All right, stop here," Riella ordered suddenly, jerking me out of my thoughts. I stopped in my tracks instinctively, then glanced around.

"But we're not to the medbay yet," I objected. "We're not even close." I winced. Uh-oh. Riella's optics flashed in triumph.

"I was right. It _is_ you," she exclaimed. "What are you playing at here, Liraz? Telling everyone you're dead? Why not tell them the truth?" Her voice became angry. "Aren't we worth the truth, _Herald?_ Isn't _Nightbeat_ worth the truth?" I winced again, flinched away from the accusation written in every line on her face.

"Yes. But if Cero finds out and kills someone for me surviving, then that won't be worth having told the truth. The fewer people who know, the fewer people who will talk about it where he might overhear… or where another resurrected or mind-controlled bot might overhear and report to him," I snapped.

"You realize I _really_ don't trust you now, right?" she muttered.

"If that keeps you alive, keeps Prowl alive, and helps keep the other Autobots alive and safe from other Heralds, than I'm glad," I replied seriously. "I'd rather be distrusted and have the opportunity to prove myself trustworthy than have everyone trust me and then fail them." Riella regarded me for a long moment.

"You really mean that, don't you?" she realized. I nodded.

"I do. And not just because my great-great-aunt's sister or some such was the original protector of Cybertronians. Leora Tovinia was the shield between the Council and the Colonials. Ever since, Tovinias have been raised to protect. Field Heralds are taught to respect and protect Factionists as well as Colonials. And now the only way to protect everyone is to kill my mentor. Actually, that's why I came here in the first place," I added, a sliver of memory surfacing.

"I thought you were banished here," Riella objected. I hesitated, gathering my memories.

"Yes. Warria Prime, the leader of the Colony, banished me here. It was part of the plan. We knew Cero had murdered Factionists, but we couldn't prove it to the court's satisfaction; you need much more evidence to convict a Master Herald than you need to convict a Cadet Herald. It was easy to frame me for Ironhide's murder and send me away. We hoped that Cero would attack me, that I would be able to take him down. He's too powerful for anyone else, and he gets more powerful each time he drains another spark. I need to do this. But first…first I need to make sure Nightbeat is all right."

I waited in silence as Riella appeared to consider my words. I held my breath. If she chose not to believe me, I would have to go after Cero without saying good-bye to Nightbeat. If I couldn't handle Cero's power, if my former mentor killed me or managed to force me to join him (though I honestly couldn't imagine how he could do that), I would be dead for real, and I doubted that the Matrix would be able to revive me twice.

"All right," Riella sighed. "Let's go talk to Nightbeat. Then we'll see about finding Cero's ship like Ironhide said." I heaved a sigh of relief and nodded.

I didn't tell Riella that I had no intention of allowing any Autobot anywhere near Cero until Cero was a finely mushed pulp, no threat to my allies…my friends.

**That's this chapter! Please, please review, people! Reviews help me update quickly!**

** Trivia this chapter: who is Nightbeat's canon sidekick/assistant/partner/whatever? Hint: Hardhead is one of the mechs Nightbeat often works with, but that's not the answer I'm looking for.**


	16. Chapter 15

**Okay, sorry everyone for the lack of updates. Shenron1146 has been nagging me to update, and now I've finally gotten around to it. Liraz has been very irritated with me, too. Though that might be because of the whole "Test Torture" thing…**

**Anyway, fancy ribbon goes to Shenron1146 for getting the trivia for last chapter right. Nightbeat's canon detective partner or whatever was Siren. Not Muzzle; Muzzle was his TargetMaster partner.**

**Also, I have been informed that Liraz/Sandflame is very displeased with me for owning her at the moment, and she wants the canon characters to know that they should consider themselves lucky, because I don't own them. I also do not own Riella; she belongs to T'Reilani.**

Chapter 15

(Liraz/Sandflame's POV)

I barely managed to hold back my reaction when I saw Nightbeat. He was covered in dirt and energon, and so was the berth he was laying on. Ratchet, the ever-angry CMO, stood over the blue and gold mech, grouching at him to lay on his front, slaggit, because his back was damaged.

"So what?" Nightbeat grumbled back.

"What in the universe do you mean, _so what?_ Get your aft turned over or so help me, I'll turn you over myself!" Ratchet seemed surprised to realize that this bellow hadn't come from himself. He turned around and saw Riella and I in the medbay entrance.

"Who are you and what are you doing in my med bay?" Ratchet snarled, brandishing a wrench. I ignored him, focusing on Nightbeat.

_"Do what Ratchet says, you half-rusted gear-head!"_ I snapped at the injured mech. Ratchet seemed mildly offended.

"No one bullies my patients but me!" he objected sharply. I glared at him.

"And loads of good that's done him so far, _matonilu,_" I growled back. Nightbeat tensed as the Heraldic word slipped out of my mouth. He sat up, optics searching the room and resting on me.

"Hey, Ratchet, I've got some bad news," Riella broke in. "Ironhide came back. Without Liraz." I couldn't take my optics off Nightbeat, so I saw the hope flare in his face when Riella said Ironhide had returned, and I saw the devastation hit him like a physical force when she continued.

"No," Nightbeat whispered hoarsely. "No, that's impossible. Liraz can't be dead." My spark felt like it was being torn in two. On the one hand, I needed to keep the knowledge of my continued existence as Sandflame down. But on the other hand…Nightbeat…

_I should have gone straight for Hope and Cero, without coming here,_ I thought. But I had to see him, had to tell him.

"May I speak to Nightbeat alone?" I requested, forgetting for a moment that my new self, the visiting Colonial warrior, probably wouldn't know who Nightbeat was, much less be able to recognize him on sight.

"Who are you?" Ratchet growled, refocusing on me.

"She's a Colonial warrior. She goes by Sandflame," Riella answered – which was the truth, I realized, except for the Colonial part. "I trust her, Ratchet, at least to talk to Nightbeat alone without hurting him any more." Riella glanced at me as she said this, and I understood her meaning: she was giving me a chance to prove myself worthy of her trust, worthy of her lying for me. I nodded slowly to let her know I understood.

"Ten minutes," Ratchet snarled. I bowed, Colonial style, and he stomped out. Riella gave me a long, dark look before she left. I could read her thoughts in her optics without even reaching to sense the general feel of her emotions in her spark. I had better live up to this little bit of trust she was placing in me, or she'd kill me herself. I gulped, then turned to Nightbeat, who was watching me warily.

"Will they be watching?" I asked. He nodded slowly, as though trying to figure something out. I could tell he was close to realizing the truth. I sorted through the range of pulses my new body could generate, which I had discovered – much to Ironhide's annoyance – on the way to the base.

At last I found the one I wanted. I triggered the pulse – a simple, low-power one – to knock out any surveilence.

"Who are you really?" Nightbeat asked. I could see that he suspected, and a strange mix of relief, pain, confusion, and something else flitted through his eyes and spark, which I was suddenly aware of as it pulsed quicker than usual.

"You know who I am," I replied softly. "Don't you, _bivilu_?" His expression crumpled, and I was instantly at his side. I started to reach out and touch him, but held back, unsure of how he would respond. "Is your back all right?" I whispered. "That Seeker did quite a bit of damage."

I felt his spark touch mine and basked in the flood of emotion that washed over me from him. I smiled, a weak, watery smile, and found my expression mirrored on his face.

"Liraz," he whispered. "Liraz, you're alive!" I don't exactly know what happened next, but I ended up sitting on the berth beside him, holding tightly to him as he wrapped his arms around me, crushing me against his side. "When Riella said…I thought I'd lost you," he admitted, voice rough.

"I know. I thought I'd lost you when I woke up and Ironhide told me he didn't know what had happened to you," I replied. Then I sighed. "And my name is Sandflame now. Devastator fell on top of me, crushed me. But the Matrix reformatted me and gave me a new name, _bivilu._ I can't let Hope and Cero know I'm still alive, as Sandflame. I have to deal with them quickly, before they cause any more harm." The words bubbled out in a rush, flowing out of my mouth before I could even think about them, much less think about stopping them. Nightbeat forced himself to loosen his grip on me.

"You have to go," he realized. I could feel his pain as if it were my own. Maybe it was. Before it could become too much to bear, I pulled away and got up, heading for the med bay doors.

"Yeah. I have to go. And I can't promise I'll live long enough to come back," I added, voice catching. "For all I know, I'm walking into a trap, and Cero will kill me the instant I set foot on his ship." A sound behind me made me pause and turn back. Nightbeat was getting up off the berth. "Don't. you'll hurt yourself, and then Ratchet and Riella will have to play Rock, Paper, Scissors to see who gets to kill me first." He shook his head. I shuttered my optics.

_Stubborn mech,_ I thought.

_That would be me,_ Nightbeat agreed, sadness lacing his mental voice. Then I felt his arms around me again as he pulled me against his chest. My optics flew open and my frame relaxed into his hold without me telling it to. I could feel his spark pulsing in his chest, and my own spark pulse sped up in response. _I don't want you to leave. I don't want to let you go._

_ Then don't,_ I whispered back, optics shuttered again. _I don't want to leave you._

_ Then don't,_ he replied. But the deep ache in both our sparks told me we both knew I had to go, and he had to let me. _Promise me you'll come back._

_ If I can,_ I promised.

_No. Promise me you_ will_. I need you to come back, Liraz. Sandflame. I – _

_Don't say it. If you say it, I won't be able to leave,_ I growled hopelessly.

_::Riella to Sandflame. We've located Cero's ship.::_ I groaned and pulled away from Nightbeat – or started to. He pulled me back for an instant and lowered his forehead to mine for the briefest moment possible. Then he released me. Afraid my spark would shatter, I turned away and left the med bay.

By the time I reached the control room or whatever they called the place Ironhide and I had met up with Riella and Jolt, I had locked away my emotions. I would find Cero and kill him. I would find Hope and figure out whose side she was on. Then I would come back to Nightbeat. That was all there was to it.

"Prime, sending Autobots with us will only put them in danger," Ironhide was saying to Optimus as I walked in.

"But you'll be in danger if you go alone," the red and blue mech replied.

"I won't be alone; Sandflame will be with me. This is her mission, not mine. I won't be in any danger," Ironhide argued. Prime frowned.

"If this is her mission, why are you going?" Prowl put in reasonably.

"Ironhide, while Sandflame is a capable warrior, I'm sure, she is still an unaligned femme. She hasn't been trained against the Decepticons, and she is a femme. We should be protecting her, not sending her on what sounds like a suicide mission," piped up a mech I didn't know. I barely glanced at him; Riella's following outburst captured my attention.

"I'm a femme, too, you imbecile! I've gone on suicide missions before, and I came back! How dare you –"

"You're right, I'm not an Autobot femme," I interrupted. Several Autobots jumped; they hadn't noticed me come in. "But I'm not unaligned. I am a Colonial, and I could dice the whole lot of you into spare parts for Ratchet before you could say 'scrap' if I wanted to. My mission is my own, my risks are my own, and the only reason I am allowing Ironhide to accompany me is because I need transportation; a desert fox can only run so fast," I added, deliberately diverting them from their discussion of my safety.

"A Desert fox?" Prime repeated. Mission accomplished. I transformed down to my alt mode.

And the fox took over. I shivered; it was cold in the base. Nights were cold. I needed to find a den and sleep. The sun would be back soon, but for now I have to sleep…I swayed on my paws.

"Primus," someone gasped. I blinked, and suddenly I was me again.

"Colonials have organic alt modes," I explained.

"I didn't know that was possible," Prime murmured.

"We had a Colonial femme in here with Hope Tovinia whose alternate form was a silver lioness," Ratchet pointed out. I glanced at him. He'd been standing behind Optimus, which is why I didn't notice him right away.

"Hope Tovinia," I said softly, transforming back to my new bipedal root mode. "Why was she here? To my knowledge she was posted on Heer-olde, not Earth."

"She came for Liraz, to keep Cero from hurting her. She guided us to her ship to rescue Liraz, and it was Hope's plan that helped us pull it off. Hope brought her to him in the first place to keep him from just killing her," Riella said calmly, stepping into the role of person-who-says-stuff-to-make-sure-other-people-believe-my-cover. I watched her for a moment. She met my gaze and nodded slowly.

Realization struck me. She was trusting me. Granted, she was just trusting me to do my duty and squish Cero like the deadly insect he was, but still. I blinked in surprise, then nodded back.

"Right. I'll discuss this with Hope Tovinia, then. Right after I've dealt with Cero," I added. "Ironhide, let's go." The black mech started to follow me out, but we both stopped when Jolt piped up.

"Riella told me Hope believed only Liraz could defeat Cero," the blue mech said. I glanced over my shoulder.

"What makes you think she won't?" I asked.

We were gone before the Autobots could process that.

**All right, please tell me what you think! Flames will be used to boil water for Jell-O (If you don't get that reference, read Lexi's Jell-O Revenge). If someone ends up having another incident with Jell-O, I'm sending the irritated characters to you. **

** Don't forget to check out my Halo challenge. Further info on my profile, right at the top for your convenience. Also, don't forget to vote for your favorite generation on my poll, also located at the top of my profile for your convenience.**

** Anyway, this chapter's trivia is: I mentioned Muzzle, Nightbeat's TargetMaster partner, in my beginning author's note. What species are the majority of the HeadMasters and TargetMasters?**


	17. Chapter 16

**Oh my gosh, it's been forever since I've updated! I'm so sorry! I've been busy with original stuff, and working on writing a Star Wars fic. I don't know when it will be up, but probably when I finish with Sandflame and Lexi.**

**Anyway, as always, I own nothing but my OCs, and Riella belongs to T'Reilani. **

**And now, the epic battle! Sorry, but it's fairly short. Violence warning for this chapter.**

Chapter 16

(Sandflame's POV)

I stared up at Cero's ship for a long moment, uncertain how to proceed. I had transformed down to my Heraldic form, and approached the huge ship on my own, leaving Ironhide waiting a safe distance away. The ship itself was not the Herald-issue, hawk-winged ship he'd had on our homeworld, the one I could almost remember. This was a sleek, slender ship bristling with weapons ports along its equator, with narrow, tapered wings. This was a ship meant for battle, in atmosphere or vacuum. This was a ship that could destroy me and any shield I might conjure in a heartbeat – or sparkpulse, as the case may be.

The doors hissed open automatically. I guess that's how I was supposed to proceed. I stepped into the shadowy hallway, and the doors hissed shut behind me.

_::Liraz? Is that you?:: _Hope called over a Heraldic frequency.

_::Yeah. It's me. Where's Cero?::_ I asked as I made my way through the ship.

_::In the control room, preparing for the return trip to Heer-olde,::_ my cousin answered. _::Where are you?::_

_ ::In the control room, preparing to cancel his return trip,::_ I replied grimly as I entered the room. Cero had his back to me, bent over a control panel.

"Master Herald Cero Lotiv," I announced. He whirled and let out a strangled shout.

"Liraz?" he gasped. "I thought I had you killed!" I bared my teeth and drew my twin swords.

"You did. Now I'm here to return the favor," I told him. "Prepare to die, _hata._" I lunged, hoping to catch him off guard, but he unsheathed his blade and brought it around to meet my attack just in time. I disengaged and attacked again, hacking away at his side while keeping his sword engaged with my other blade.

Cero shoved against my sword, twisted away from my strike, and then leaped backwards. Before I could react, he lunged forward and smashed his sword against both of mine, forcing me back. I shifted my stance, trying to get a better position. One of his feet shot out and slammed into my knee. I cried out and fell, barely keeping my blades between me and the merciless edge of my former mentor's weapon.

"Apparently you are annoying enough that I must kill you myself!" Cero spat, pressing his advantage. I growled and tried to roll away. I barely missed getting chopped in half.

_I can't beat him like this,_ I thought.

_So don't. Beat him like something else,_ the ancient voice whispered in my mind. _What can you do that he can't?_

Of course. I slashed out wildly. Cero moved back, then started to close in. Before he could, I let out a yell and transformed straight to my organic alt mode. The fox took over.

I ducked under his swipe and scampered forward, faster than any normal desert fox could be. Then I jumped. My nails dug into his chest and my fangs snapped at his throat.

My jaws met. Flesh tore. Blood, hot, metallic, sand-flavored, sharp with the electric taste of the Energon in him, rushed down my throat. I jerked my head, fell away. Cero gurgled and hit the floor beside me. He twitched once and lay still. The door to the control room opened. I darted away.

I had to get away. I had to hide. I had to –

"Liraz? Liraz, where are you?" The voice of my cousin washed over me. "Liraz?" I heard her gasp and knew she had seen Cero's body. "Liraz, what happened? Are you all right?" She was worried about me. I wanted to go to her, to make sure she was really on my side, but the fox wouldn't let me. I fought to return to my Heraldic shape, but the fox wouldn't let me.

_Ah, _atuda,_ we are sorry. You must choose. Even a Colonial form is not meant to hold two organic shapes. You must choose, daughter. Choose your form, and your home._

_ The fox! I give up the fox!_ I gasped. I couldn't suppress a shudder of horror as I remembered the feel of Cero's throat in my jaws, his blood in my mouth. And then the fox was gone. I knelt on the floor in my Heraldic form, shivering uncontrollably. I knew that the fox-shape was gone, and I would not take a new organic alt-form.

"Liraz?" Hope called.

"Here." I approached slowly, unsteadily, weak from my battle with Cero and my battle with my desert fox body.

"Liraz, are you all right?" Hope gasped, rushing to my side. I managed to shrug.

"Once I know who's side you're on, I will be," I replied. "The Autobots said that you did what you did so Cero wouldn't kill me." She nodded.

"Warria sent me to make sure you lived long enough to get rid of Cero, then bring you back to Heer-olde for acquittal. She said that was the plan the two of you had all along." She hesitated. "With Cero dead, we can go home now. My ship isn't far, and Felis has is ready and waiting." I shook my head.

"Hope, did you know Cero had me killed?" I asked. She frowned.

"I know he tried," she answered. "With those Decepticons he was controlling." I sighed heavily.

"He succeeded. The Matrix revived and reformatted me. But before that gestalt – Ironhide called it Devastator – fell on top of me, I drained the spark energy of a Seeker. And Devastator fell because I overloaded his spark. I can't go back to Heer-olde, not when I've committed the very crime I was convicted of in the first place." My cousin's expression was unreadable as she processed this. I waited, silent, prepared to run if I could, if I had to, if she decided I needed to be punished for my actions.

"Why?" she asked finally.

"Why what?" I countered, still half-expecting her to attack me.

"Why did you do it, Liraz? Why did you drain and overload their sparks?" my cousin sighed. I knew she'd be able to tell if I lied to her. So I told the truth.

"The Seeker was going to kill Nightbeat. Then I had too much energy after I drained him, and Devastator was going to kill them all – Prowl and Riella and Ironhide and Nightbeat – so I sent the Seeker's energy into Devastator," I explained. Hope scowled.

"So? So what if they were going to die? So what if Nightbeat was going to die? SO what if the Seeker was going to kill him? He's a Factionist, Liraz! They die! It's what they do!" she snapped. I allowed myself a small, sad smile. She didn't understand. She didn't know them the way I did.

"They're Autobots," I corrected gently. "Nightbeat's an Autobot. And he's _mine_." Suddenly, her scowl faded.

"Oh, that lucky mech," she gasped. Shocked at her change in response, I stared at her.

"What?" She laughed.

"Nightbeat. You're in love with him, aren't you?" she grinned.

"I am not!" I snapped reflexively. Then I felt my face heat up as I had to admit some things to myself. Like the fact that I couldn't stop calling him _bivilu_.

"So have you bonded already, or is that what you're headed back to the Autobot base to do?" Hope inquired wickedly.

"I'm not – I mean, we aren't –"

"Oh, yeah? But I sense a true spark in you, and you said the Matrix reformatted you, and you've got a new look in your eye, cousin dear," she said in a sing-song voice. "Oh, show me what your new form looks like!" I sighed and transformed up to my Cybertronian bipedal form.

"Happy now?" I demanded. She grinned.

"Oh, yes. But do you have a decent alt mode?" she replied. When I shook my head, her grin grew. "I've got an idea for you, Liraz. I think you'll like it."

** All right! Chapter up! Please review! I know I've left this story – and all my others – hanging for forever, but please don't take it out on my characters! They love reviews!**


	18. Chapter 17

**Okay, so this one's going to be short. Next will be the epilogue, and then Desert Sunrise will be done. Liraz/Sandflame isn't done yet, though, so don't worry. **

**Okay, so, in a fanfic I read a long time ago, the author used touching foreheads instead of kissing for Cybertronians. Since I stink at writing kissing scenes, I'm using forehead-touching instead.**

**I still don't own Riella or any canon characters.**

Chapter 17

(Normal POV)

"Ratchet?" The Autobot medic looked up from putting the finishing touches on Nightbeat's repairs.

"What is it, Jolt?" the grumpy green mech growled.

"Ironhide's on his way in," the younger mech told him. Nightbeat, who had been laying obediently on the repair berth, bolted upright and looked at Ratchet, who nodded grudgingly.

"Let's go meet them," Ratchet agreed.

Everyone onbase turned out to see Ironhide return. And all of them were shocked when his huge black alt form pulled in, followed by a shiny new burnt orange Mustang with racing stripes. The truck transformed, and Ironhide faced Prime.

"Where is she?" Riella demanded. Ironhide shook his head.

"The one she went to destroy is dead," he announced solemnly.

"So where's the fox?" Riella snapped, just managing not to call her 'the Herald'.

"The fox is gone," Ironhide answered. Nightbeat, standing beside Ratchet, slumped. A sound behind the black mech turned everyone's attention from the meaning of his words to the burnt-orange and black femme now standing behind him. "She got a new alt mode." Riella stalked up to Ironhide and kicked him sharply in the knee.

"If that was your idea of a joke, Ironhide, I hope you think a knife somewhere painful is funny, too," she snarled.

"Oh, Riella, you do care!" Sandflame exclaimed. Riella glared at the orange and black femme. Before she could say anything, though, Sandflame continued, "I can only hold one organic form at a time, so I had to choose between my original form and the fox. I chose to ditch the fox." She held up her hands, examining the clearer orange of her slightly changed armor. "Hope picked my new alt mode out before she left."

"Are you…not returning to Heer-olde with Hope Tovinia?" Optimus asked. Sandflame shook her head.

"Heer-olde is no longer my home. I have too many memories here on Earth, and not enough on Heer-olde." She glanced at Nightbeat when she said this. "I…would like to join the Autobots, if you'll have me," she added. Prime looked to Riella.

"Well? Do you think we can trust her?" he asked. Riella met Sandflame's gaze steadily as she answered.

"I trust her. And I think you will, too, once she tells you the one thing she's hiding from you," she replied.

"Sandflame?" Prime questioned.

"You mentioned something about your 'original body'," Ratchet put in. "Does that have anything to do with this?" Sandflame winked. Then stepped forward. The sound of metal shifting accompanied the transformation of the orange and black femme to a small orange humanoid figure. Liraz Tovinia stood before them once more. The Autobots froze in shock.

All of them except Nightbeat, anyway. He moved forward and reached down, offering his hand to the technorganic, who jumped neatly into his palm. Nightbeat lifted her to his shoulder, and she grinned as she settled into her favorite spot with a hand on his neck to steady herself.

"Well?" Nightbeat asked, arching an optic ridge at Optimus, who shook off his surprise with difficulty.

"Welcome to the Autobots, Sandflame," he managed.

(Sandflame's POV)

_You are truly our daughter now, _atuda, the Matrix whispered in my mind.

_I know. This is my home, now, _I added.

_'This' being Earth, or the Autobot base? _The Matrix asked, amused. _Or maybe just your current position?_ My optics onlined at that. I looked around and felt myself heat up. My cooling fans kicked in.

_Um._ My mind was blank for a moment. Then memory came rushing back. Nightbeat and I had talked for a long time. About everything, and nothing. And then apparently I had fallen into recharge leaning against his side, in my Cybertronian bipedal form.

_Happens once, fault to mech. Happens twice, fault to femme. Happens thrice, fault to fate…_ my cooling fans kicked up a notch. Nightbeat shifted a little, settling his arm comfortably around me.

"Finally awake?" he murmured. I realized that I could feel him, feel his spark. The sensation wasn't quite inside my own spark, not yet.

_Thus is the path of sparkmates._ I stared up into Nightbeat's blue optics.

"Do you know what _bivilu_ means?" I asked without thinking. He blinked.

"No, but since you keep calling me that, I figured you'd tell me eventually," he replied. Befeore I could mentally talk myself out of telling him, I blurted it out.

"_Bivilu_ means 'beloved one'," I whispered. His arm tightened around me for an instant. Then he lowered his face to rest his forehead on mine. I felt my spark pulse faster.

"I couldn't tell you before you left to face Cero, but I can tell you now. I love you, Sandflame," Nightbeat whispered back. "I've loved you since you were still a Herald." He hesitated, his blue optics gazing into my green ones. "I want you for my sparkmate, by my side forever." I pressed closer to him, unable to respond with words, but knowing he understood that I felt the same way.

I knew because of the bond already beginning to form, the bond that would soon connect our sparks forever.

** Okay, so that's the last chapter. Kind of. I have an epilogue that I'll put up soon. Please review!**


	19. Epilogue

**Okay, epilogue, as promised! And a whole lot quicker than I expected! The only characters I own in this chapter are Sandflame and the three new ones. You'll know who they are.**

Epilogue

(Sandflame's POV)

I stood on a ridge overlooking the desert, miles from the Autobot base that had been my home for years, since the day I defeated Cero and then forged a bond with Nightbeat. My sparkmate stood at my side, arm around my waist, facing east with me.

"Mom! Mom, look at me!" I smiled down at where my sparklings played in the sand. It would be a pain to get off of them , I knew, but I wanted them to see the desert at least once. Stoneblade, the most adventurous, was racing in circles…in alt mode successfully for about the tenth time. His coppery armor gleamed in the light of the rising sun as he spun around his siblings. It was hard to reconcile this cheerful, energetic youngling with the little mech who so seriously studied swordplay with me every day.

"Oh, yes, Mom, look at how stupid Stone's being!" added Torque. Torque watched his twin brother with his arms crossed, mint-green armor not nearly as polished and shiny as Stoneblade's. He was smaller than his twin, and more reserved than Stoneblade as well, which suited the path he had chosen in life: the path of a medic. "I'm not helping you back to root mode if you get stuck because of the sand, Stone!" Torque added.

"You're a meanie, Q!" squeaked the littlest of my offspringand the only femme, Tovi, who had inheritad her father's blue and yellow coloring. She was just old enough to be grumpy about the fact that her brothers could transform, but she couldn't.

"They're certainly lively, aren't they?" Nightbeat murmured in my audio. I sighed happily and shifted closer to him.

"Yep. Thanks for helping me get them out here," I added. He chuckled.

"You're welcome. I think the others were glad to have them gone for a few cycles," he added. "I love you, Sandflame," he said after a moment.

"I love you, too, Nightbeat," I replied.

Together, we watched our sparklings, and the sun rising over the sand.

_This is how life should be,_ I thought. _This is what I love. These are the people I love, and I will do anything to protect them, to protect this. To see even one more desert sunrise with them._

** Well, that's a wrap! Man, it's been forever since I started this! Please let me know what you think, and let me know if I should finish Still Human or do a fic about Sandflame carrying Torque andn Stoneblade.**

** And just in case you were confused, Torque (aka Q) is a kind of dark mint green, and he's a medic, apprenticed to Ratchet. Stoneblade is his twin, and he's a melee warrior. He uses two short swords like his mother. Stone's armor is bright copper. Tovi is the only femme of the three, and she has Nightbeat's coloring, but in reverse, so her torso is blue and her limbs are yellow. She's too young to really have a specialty, but I'm thinking she'll have a skill set that's a blend of Sandflame's battle techniques and Nightbeat's analysis and problem-solving skills.**

** Major thanks to T'Reilani, who let me use Riella and reviewed a bunch!**


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